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“No. You don’t know me anymore. We were kids back then. We didn’t know anything, let alone who we were.”
She pulled back. “If you don’t like the way your father was, then change. God created you in His image. You don’t have to carry on your father’s legacy. With God, you can start new, you and your brothers.” She looked down. He didn’t want to be preached at. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His gaze stayed focused on the slow-moving town outside the window. “Pastor Wayne said pretty much the same thing.” A cold wall fell between them that had nothing to do with the weather outside.
The hard jaw flexed as his attention touched her briefly before moving away again. “Listen, I know what you want, and I can’t deliver. My uncle is in charge now, and he wants the wood salvaged and sent to Flower Mound. More people will see them there if that makes you happy.” He shrugged. “That’s where they’re going, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
She pulled back. What had she been thinking? Maybe everything her father said about the Delgado family was true and Max wasn’t the sweet boy of her memories. It was all about what they could sell or who they could use. They didn’t care about their history.
Leaning forward, she crossed her arms and looked him straight in the eye. He was going to learn what it meant to be a Bergmann. “I’m not giving up that easily. Get me in touch with your uncle. I’m sure we can work out some sort of deal. Maybe some positive PR.” Her heart pounded in her ears. This was her gift to her mother. To finish the work her mother had started. So many years working on this project. It couldn’t come down to one simple no.
“Max, the history is so important to protect and preserve. It won’t cost y’all any money. I have grants and city support. I’ve been working on this a long time. I just need the buildings. They belong to Clear Water. It’s what my mother—” she bit her lip “—and your mother wanted.”
“Don’t go there. What does it matter anyway? Saving the buildings won’t bring them back.”
Leaning closer, she looked him right in the eyes. A couple of inches separated them. “History is how we remember where we came from.”
He rested his arm on the back of the booth, trying to act as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but she could see the pulse at the base of his neck, in the space near his collarbone. “There’s your problem. With my family’s past? I would rather forget. My parents are gone, and I’d rather plunge in to the future. History belongs behind us.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. “How can you not want to honor them?” Her voice sounded rough to her own ears. “I’ll never forget my mother. This was important to her. And to yours.” He had to understand. “The boy I spent that summer with would have understood.”
“That boy is long gone.” He pinned her with a stare. His once-warm eyes now stared coldly at her, as though they were strangers. “Jackie, some rotted-out buildings are not going to bring them back. Is that what this is all about? Our mothers?”
Yes. No. She couldn’t think. Before she could respond, Sally was passing out plates full of giant burgers and hand-cut fries. “Anything else I can get y’all?”
Jackie smiled and thanked her, her face stinging from embarrassment and unshed tears. She had lost her appetite. There was no way she could eat a bite. “Yes, I’d like a to-go box.”
Max stood. “I’ll get the boys. If we could get it all to go, that’d be great.” He glanced at Jackie, then looked off to where the boys had gone. “You can take us back to the ranch. I’ll go to Uvalde for our supplies.”
Sally shot a frown his way, and a few of the people around the café cut hostile stares at him as he walked to the back to get the boys.
She wasn’t going to feel sorry for him.
Once and for all, Max Delgado was out of her heart and gone from her thoughts. He had been hiding in the deepest part of her subconscious without her even being aware he was there. It was good that he was here and she could let go of any teenage fantasy.
She could focus on what was important. Getting those buildings restored. Their mothers had wanted this for the town and their families. She wanted this for them, so they would never be forgotten. Maybe some of the guilt would finally fade away.
She finished her hot chocolate and pushed back her cup.
* * *
Ignoring the suspicious glares, Max stood in the archway and scanned the small game room located between the café and the convenience store on the other side of the building. He hated the feelings Jackie brought out in him. He didn’t want to think about his mother or his father. Especially his father. It wouldn’t change anything. He’d just get angry, and he was tired of living with anger.
Ethan was in a race car simulator. Max didn’t see Tomas or Isaac. “Where are the boys?”
The lanky teen leaned to the right, then pulled to the left. “They said they had to go to the bathroom.”
“You let them go by themselves?” He was not in the mood for this. Pulling in a deep breath, he forced his voice to remain calm. No need to take his frustration out on Ethan.
“They seemed old enough to be potty trained.” Ethan yelled at the screen and jerked left.
Max wasn’t in the mood for the teen’s sarcasm. He spotted the large restroom sign next to the soda counter. “This is a public gas station. You don’t let them go off on their own. I put you in charge of them.”
Ethan slammed his palms against the faux steering wheel as his race car came in last. With a grumble, he finally looked at Max. “Maybe I don’t want to be in charge. That’s your job. You volunteered for babysitting duty. I didn’t.”
Max gritted his teeth. He wanted to point out that Ethan had asked to come along; no one had invited him. But even though his knowledge was limited when it came to kids, he knew that getting into a power struggle with a teenager was an exercise in futility.
Stepping into the public restroom, he knocked on the stall doors. “Tomas! Isaac!”
No answer came back to him. Glancing under the doors, he found the stalls empty. Sheer panic froze him in place for a moment. They had to be here. Horror stories of kids disappearing swamped his brain. That kind of stuff didn’t happen in Clear Water, not here in Smalltown, USA. “Tomas! Isaac!”
They had to be here somewhere. Coming out of the bathroom, he walked briskly over to the convenience store side. The boys would love to play with the souvenirs and toys over there. Maybe they’d wandered that way. “Ethan! They aren’t in here. Get Jackie. I’m going to see if they went into the store.”
Ethan stood, his mouth open. “What do you mean? They have to be there.”
Max took a deep breath to keep himself from yelling. “They’re gone. Tell Jackie.” Without waiting, he rushed over to find a clerk who might have seen the boys.
His mind was racing with all the worst possibilities. The kid organizing chip bags looked all of sixteen. “Did you see two boys? Dark hair. Identical looking. Five and six years old? They were in the restroom.”
“No, but I heard the bell over the door a little bit ago.” He frowned. “Do you need me to call the sheriff?”
“Maybe.” Was he overreacting? No, they were small kids, and they were missing. “Yeah. I’ll go outside and check.”
“Max?” Jackie charged into the store from the café. Ethan was close behind. “What do you need me to do?”
“He’s calling the sheriff. I’m going outside.”
“Okay. We’ll find them.” Her matter-of-fact tone helped him calm down.
“Y’all need help?” Some of the people from the café joined them.
Jackie turned to the small group. “The boys didn’t come back from the restroom.”
Max didn’t wait around to hear the rest of the conversation. Out the front door, he turned to the right. It looked like a drive-through feed store. Bags of feed were stacked on pallets, and bales of hay lined the opposite side.
Behind the hay, he heard familiar giggling. His knees went weak at the beautiful sound.
“There they are.” Ethan’s voice didn’t sound steady.
They were safe. For a moment, all Max wanted to do was sink to the floor and cover his face. That had to have been the worst experience of his life. More terrifying than any bull he’d ever faced.
He moved round the bales. The brothers sat in the middle of a pen, smiling, surrounded by a litter of puppies.
He took what felt like his first breath since going into the restroom. Someone touched his arm. Turning, he found Jackie next to him. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, but her smile was warm. The people who had been in the café crowded into the feed store area.
Her hand slipped down to his. “They’re okay.”
He managed a nod. She left him and joined the group of people at the entrance. “He found them with the puppies. Thanks for offering to help.”
Dub nodded. “Happy that they’re safe. I’ll call dispatch and let them know we don’t need the sheriff.” The small crowd went back to the warm café.
“Great. Now they think I’m the worst guardian, along with all the other things they condemn the Delgados for.”
“Kids slip away. It happens to a lot of good parents. It is terrifying, but they’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
“I’m not their parent.”
“For now, you’re the only parent they have.”
That stopped him cold. He hadn’t thought of it that way. They were his responsibility. He wanted to give them more than his father had given him, but he wasn’t sure he knew how. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned back to the boys. Ethan had a tight grip on the top of the temporary pen.
He didn’t trust himself to join them yet. Ethan needed to be aware of the consequences of being careless, and Isaac and Tomas had to understand they couldn’t wander off. But if he started talking to them now, he feared he’d start yelling and criticizing. That’s what his father would have done, so he’d start by not doing that. He needed to calm down before they had that conversation.
He took a deep breath, and a gust of cold air seared his lungs.
Who was he kidding? All that stuff about being their parent and being better than his father was a joke. There was no way he could do this. He just wanted to get out of Clear Water. Let his uncle deal with the ranch. Jackie and her buildings were not his problems. They couldn’t be.
Chapter Three (#u3fe89e3b-0e99-5609-bb44-f48bc393f505)
Once her heart returned to a reasonable beat, Jackie kneeled at the edge of the enclosure that held the litter of rambunctious puppies. Next to her, Ethan gripped the top of the wire panel that made a temporary pen. His shoulders rose and fell with each hard breath. It looked like he was breathing fire when his exhalation hit the cold air. The color had left the teen’s face.
“You told me you were going to the restroom!” he started yelling at the twins. “You can’t just leave like that.” His voice cracked. “What were you thinking?” His pitch went higher.
“Ethan.” Max walked up next to him and placed a hand on the center of his back. “We’ll talk about this later.”
The teen’s nostrils flared as he shook his head. “Someone bad could have kidnapped you. The people in the café had to call the police!”
Tomas ducked his head. Tears built in his eyes as he hugged the puppy.
“Stop, Ethan.” Max’s stern voice left no room for argument. “We’ll talk about this later, and we’ll also address your responsibility in this. They’re little kids. You’re older.” He cut a glance at the boys. “We will talk about this.” He looked back at Ethan. “In private.”
The black fluff ball that Tomas held against his chest stopped wriggling and licked the boy’s face. He kept his eyes down.
Isaac looked down at the golden puppy in his lap. “There’s lots of cool stuff here, then we heard the puppies bark,” he mumbled. The usually happy brother was also on the verge of tears. “Momma said she was bringing home a puppy for Christmas.”
Jackie covered her mouth. These babies had lost both parents and had been left with brothers they didn’t even know. Swinging her leg over the panel, she joined the boys in the middle of the litter.
She sat between them. Maybe she was overstepping, but she pulled them close. Two other puppies joined them, jumping over each other, tails wagging.
With a soft squeeze, she pressed a kiss to the side of each of the boys’ heads. “We were worried about you. You must let your brothers know where you’re at all the time. They love you, and were scared when they couldn’t find you.”
Isaac looked up at Ethan and Max. “We’re sorry. Look.” He held his pup up to them. “This one has the same color of hair as Momma, and that one is the same as Daddy. They were waiting for us.”
Tomas wiped his face across his sleeve and smiled at the puppy that licked him. “They need homes. Can we take them? Maybe they’re the dogs Momma was going to give us.”
Max blew out a heavy sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, boys, but it’ll be up to Vanessa. You’re going to be living with her.”
Silent tears fell to the concrete, leaving prints in the dust. Tomas buried his face in the soft fur. Jackie looked at Max. He had his hands stuffed in his back pockets. The muscles in his jaw popped. There had to be something they could do. Ethan joined them, sitting cross-legged, and a few of the puppies scrambled into his lap.
“Hey, folks. Jim McClain.” The feed store owner joined them. He wiped his hands with a bandanna before offering one in greeting to Max. “If you want them, those puppies will be ready to go home with you by the end of the week. The two smaller ones are the only homeless ones. They’re my sister’s dogs. The mother is a super sweet Lab. Good family dog.” He grinned. “Not sure about the father. I think he might be the neighbor’s Australian shepherd. They’re real smart. Easy to train. Already house broke. Looks like a perfect match to me.”
“We’re just here temporarily.” Max frowned.
Jim looked down. “Jackie! Hey, girl, what are you doing? Your dad need any hay or feed? Maybe a couple of dogs?” He laughed.
Jim towered over Max and was twice his size. He had played college ball and was now back in town running the family business. He was always trying to get her to buy something or go on a date with him. She had been able to avoid both by avoiding the feed store altogether, until now.
She smiled. “No thanks, Jim. This is Tomas and Isaac Delgado and their brothers, Ethan and Max.”
Eyes narrowed, Jim crossed his massive arms. “Thought you looked familiar. Your uncle had all his feed and hay shipped in from Kerrville. You here to clear out all those thistles? They’re ruining all our grass.”
She stood. “Jim, he’s here with his brothers because their father died in an accident. He’s looking to clean up the land and get it back into shape.”
Max glared at her. “I don’t need to explain myself or my brothers to anyone.”
Isaac stood, holding his puppy close. “Mr. McClain, we’d take really good care of these two. We think they want to stay together, so they won’t be scared when they leave their mom.”
Jim softened and smiled at the five-year-old. “I believe they like you, too. I’ll talk to my sister, and you talk with your brother. It’s a big responsibility.” He went down on his haunches so that he was eye to eye with both boys. “They’d count on you to take care of them.”
The brothers now stood next to each other, each hugging a puppy like they’d never let go. Tomas kissed his black pup on its nose. “We’re going to call this one Baby. That’s what Momma called Daddy.”
Isaac giggled as the golden pup licked his ear. “This one is going to be Queenie because Daddy called Momma his queen. She’s blonde like Momma. What do you think?”
Jim patted the little dog. “Those sound like fine names.” He stood and turned to Max. “Looks like you got a couple of dogs. I can put all the supplies you’ll need on a ranch account for you.” He turned to the boys. “On that second aisle over there is a bunch of collars and other stuff puppies need. Pick out what you want, and I’ll have it all ready for you when you pick them up the Saturday after Thanksgiving.” He smirked at Max. “I trust you’ll pay the balance then.”
Rushing over the fencing, the twins charged into Max. “Please. We love these puppies. Vanessa’ll love them, too.”
He looked at Jackie, a sadness in his eyes. She thought about pointing out to the boys that Max hadn’t actually agreed to them keeping the dogs. With a sigh, he shook his head.
Ethan scowled. “You’re going to let them do whatever they want, aren’t you?”
Max dropped to meet the boys eye to eye. “I’m so sorry, boys, but we can’t take these puppies. If Vanessa says no, then they will have nowhere to go. That’s not fair to them.” He reached out to wipe a tear off Isaac’s cheek. “It’s not fair to you, either. I can’t tell you yes, then turn around and take them away from you.”
Tomas squeezed his puppy. “We could all stay with you.”
The sadness in Max’s eyes caused her to fight back her own tears. There had to be some way she could help. Maybe she could offer to take the puppies.
Max picked up one of the puppies. “Tomas, I’ll be going back to the rodeo soon. We have the next couple of weeks together, then you’ll be going with Vanessa. We’ll visit and talk as much as you want, but you can’t live with me. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Both boys nodded.
He looked at Jim. “Maybe we could visit while we’re still in town?”
“Not a problem. The puppies always need a bit of attention.” Jim held his hand out again and waited for Max to take it. “Welcome back to Clear Water, Delgado. Let me know what you need, and I can have it delivered. If you need help clearing out the thistles, I know where you can hire some local boys.” He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket. “Call me for whatever you need.”
“Thanks.” Max didn’t look all that thankful. “Come on, boys. Tell the dogs bye. We need to get our food and head to the ranch. I don’t need you getting sick from being out in the cold.” He turned to her as he pulled off his jacket. “Here, put this on. You can’t get sick, either. Don’t need more reasons for people to hate me.”
“I come from tough stock.” She pulled the comfortable denim around her shoulders anyway and tried not to inhale his scent too deeply. It filled her with comfort. Not good. “But thank you.”
