Buch lesen: «Lone Star Christmas»

Chapter One

Bitter winds whipped through the valley and down the back of Max Delgado’s neck. Twenty years had passed since his last visit to the ranch. The Delgado Ranch, his family’s homestead since the early 1800s. He carried the name of the first Delgado in Texas: Maximiliano Francisco Puentes Delgado. Always sounded a bit pretentious to him.

Looking over the fence to the vast landscape, he tried to pull up memories of his childhood, but being here didn’t help. He had been told he’d spent most of his early years here with his mother. There was probably a reason they were so elusive, or maybe he just didn’t have a good memory. He tended to live in the moment. It was easy, and he liked easy.

His focus went back to the broken gate. November was never this cold in the Texas Hill Country. The way his life had been going the last few months, though, he probably shouldn’t be surprised.

Right on cue, the rotten wood crumbled in his gloved hand, the old hardware now useless. The corral was in worse shape than Max had first thought. He’d need a truckload of panels before he put any bulls in this pen. He had hauled a couple practice bulls along with his favorite horses.

They were getting restless and needed to be unloaded. He glanced back at the neglected pens and arena. Either his uncle had lied about the condition of the ranch, or the man he’d hired had been cashing the checks without doing the work.

His father’s voice jumped through his head, calling him useless and lazy. Dropping to his haunches, he planted his elbows above his knees and lowered his head. The memories he tried ignoring bombarded his brain. All those years spent trying to prove himself to a father who didn’t care, trying to gain approval from a man who had written him off when he was ten. A man who was now dead. Any chance of mending that relationship was gone.

In the past when these thoughts started crowding in, he’d have leaped on a bull or driven until he found a crowd that would help him drown the feelings he didn’t want to deal with.

But that was getting old. A few months ago, he’d tried something new. He’d sought out Pastor Wayne, the cowboy preacher who followed the rodeo circuit. So now he prayed. He prayed for wisdom and patience.

“I’m hungry.” One of his new responsibilities interrupted the prayer.

“Me, too, and I’m cold. Can we go inside?”

Even though Tomas and Isaac were a year apart at six and five, he wasn’t sure who was who. What he did know was that his half brothers had started grumbling about an hour ago. All three of them. He shot a glance at the teen. Ethan had asked to come along on the road trip. Ethan’s mother, the second wife, had headed back to Chicago and didn’t seem to care that her son wanted to spend the holidays with three brothers he had just met at his father’s funeral. Right now, the only thing that made them family was a last name. On impulse Max had thought this trip would give them a chance to connect before the little ones went to live with their aunt and Ethan returned to school.

“Max!” they cried out at the same time.

With a heavy sigh, he made sure to smile at them. It wasn’t their fault, and it wouldn’t be right to get mad at them. He’d seen the boys once, when they were too small to remember him. Now they had lost both parents and were stuck with brothers they didn’t know, other than what they had been told.

He rubbed one of them on the head. “There are some protein bars in the truck.”

“We ate them.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “The whole box?”

His littlest brothers nodded in unison. That couldn’t be good for their stomachs.

“Um...then get the chips. There’s beef jerky, too.”

“Ethan ate all those.” They stood, arms crossed, mirror images of each other. The sixteen-year-old was leaning against the barn, still staring at his phone. The kid hadn’t looked up once all day. Actually, Max couldn’t remember seeing his eyes. Even during the funeral, he’d had his gaze glued to the small screen in his hand.

Max pinched the bridge of his nose. So far, nothing had gone right on this trip. The temperature had to have dropped twenty degrees since they left Dallas this morning.

Standing, he arched his back until he heard the popping. He winced at the pain in his shoulder. Who was he kidding? Nothing had been right for the last two months since he was stomped on by Texas Fire. He’d wanted to be the cowboy who finally stayed on that bull for a full eight seconds. He’d done it, too, but at the cost of a healthy body. One broken collarbone and one fractured eye socket were added to his already long list of wrecked body parts.

“My phone’s about to die.” Ethan looked up for the first time. “I need to charge it. It’s like we dropped off the earth.”

Max wasn’t sure why the teen had even asked to join them, or why he’d agreed to it. He sighed. The kid’s mother was back in Chicago. Unfortunately, Max had plenty of memories of her. She had been his first stepmother, not that she had been any kind of mother. She had sent him away to live with his mother’s father. Apparently, she had no problem sending her own son away, either.

They might all have the same father, but in no way had they been part of the same household.

He hoped to not only be a better big brother but to give them a sense of family. He wanted to be a brother they could count on, even when they didn’t live in the same house.

Injecting positive energy into his voice, Max smiled. “We have a couple of weeks to spend together and get some brotherly bonding. But if you want to go home, Ethan, I’m sure we can find a way to get you to the airport.”

“Nah. I’m good.”

Max stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the two little ones. He could do this until their aunt was able to get them. He had only met Vanessa once, at the rehearsal party for his father’s third marriage. She had been yelling at her sister, his father’s latest bride-to-be. Wanting to stop the fiasco, she had refused to go to the wedding. Yeah, that had been a lovely moment.

She would be taking the boys as soon as she wrapped up her end-of-year work schedule. The will had listed them both as guardians. The boys were stuck with two people who were strangers to them.

He looked at Ethan again. In the new semester, the coltish kid would return to his boarding school.

In less than a month he’d be on his own again, healed up and ready to ride in the finals. He could do this. “What about the cooler? Anything left in there?”

They shook their heads again. The matching pairs of big brown eyes just about did him in. He wanted to get these pens fixed, but he didn’t have the supplies he needed anyway.

“Come on, boys. We’ll turn the stock out in the larger pasture, then explore the living quarters. The main brick house was built by my...our grandfather in the ’70s, you know.” After unloading the bulls from the trailer, they climbed back into his truck. “Our great-great-grandfather built the old ranch house over a hundred years ago. We’ve owned the land for almost two hundred years. When Texas was still part of Mexico.”

Ethan didn’t look impressed. Time and years didn’t have much meaning to Isaac and Tomas. But for him? He hadn’t expected this stirring of coming home.

The old path to the main house was hard to find. There wasn’t any evidence that the place had had a caretaker. The weeds on the road looked as if they had grown unchecked for well over a year.

He pulled up to the house and started unloading.

“Max! Look! Someone’s coming,” one of the boys hollered.

Sure enough, a cloud of dust was heading their way. Maybe if they pretended they weren’t here, whoever it was would leave. There wasn’t a single person in Clear Water Max wanted to see.

“Who do you think it is? Uncle Rigo said this is where our family comes from.”

The other boy nodded. “He said there were lots of stupid people, too.”

Great. No telling what his uncle had said to them. “That’s not a nice word, guys. And Uncle Rigo is a bit grumpy, so I wouldn’t listen too much to what he says.”

Ethan leaned against one of the house’s columns. He slipped his phone into his loose jeans, his dark hair falling over his face. “Maybe they brought food.”

Max checked his watch. It was after two o’clock. Less than one day and he was already starving them. “Once this person leaves, we’ll drive to Uvalde and find something to eat and get supplies.”

A silver Tahoe pulled up to the front porch.

He glanced inside the vehicle. That couldn’t be right. His pulse did an uptick. The one person he wanted to avoid the most had just arrived at his door. What was she doing here? He narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was her twin, Danica, and not Jackie Bergmann.

Why was she just sitting there? He tilted his head. It looked like she was talking to someone. With a nod, she got out and stood next to the SUV, a huge smile on her face...a very forced smile.

One thing was certain. It was Jackie.

The summer they had met on the rodeo circuit she had been a pretty girl, and now she was a gorgeous woman. He had hoped his teenage memories had inflated her beauty, but they hadn’t. He had been Romeo to her Juliet. His stupid self had written endless poems and songs for her. Yeah, he’d been a major loser.

From that summer on, Jackie had become the standard to which he’d compared all the other women in his life. Her laugh, her quick wit, her gentleness—even her faith. To his irritation, the others had always come up short. He hated how much he had loved her. Not fun when it hadn’t been returned. He seemed destined to chase after people who didn’t want him.

“Hi, Max. What a good-looking family you have there. Welcome back to Clear Water.” She didn’t move, just stared at the two little ones standing next to him. “My. Those boys look just like you.”

The one closest to him took his hand. He was the friendlier one, the one who did most of the talking. “Everyone says we’re mini-Maxes. When we get our black cowboy hats, we’ll be just like him. He’s going to teach us how to ride bulls. He says—”

Max put a hand on the small shoulder. If he didn’t cut him off now, he’d never stop talking. “Hey, Danica.”

Okay, calling her by her sister’s name was low, but he couldn’t let her know how much she disturbed him. “What brings you out to the ranch?” He really hoped his voice sounded casual, as though seeing her again didn’t uproot his foundation.

Her eyes went a little wide, then her smile relaxed. “I’m Jackie. You used to be able to tell us apart. Of course, that was a long time ago. Now it looks like you got your own twins. Congratulations on the family.”

“They’re not twins,” he started to explain.

“He can’t tell us apart, either.” One of the boys giggled.

The other just watched the exchange. That had to be Tomas. He seemed to be six going on sixty.

“These are my brothers. Isaac and Tomas. That’s Ethan.”

“I’m five. Tomas is six. Ethan is sixteen.” Isaac offered up the information with a giant smile.

“Your brothers?” Her big green eyes blinked a few times.

“Yeah, it’s what happens when your father marries someone the same age as you.”

“Oh. Um, I’m sorry.” She looked behind her. “In town, I heard you were here with your wife and kids.”

“We’ve been here a couple of hours, and the town gave me a family? How did they even know we were here?”

“Welcome to Smalltown, USA. And having a Delgado back on the ranch is big news.”

“Well, you can let them know there’s no wife. Just a band of brothers.” Had she driven all the way into enemy territory to see if he was married? “How about you?”

“No brothers.” The grin showed off the dimple on her right cheek. Just as quickly the smile faded, and she looked down.

That infectious grin took him back to when he was seventeen, to the time when his one goal was to get her to smile just like that. He had lived to make her laugh.

They weren’t teens anymore. What was she doing out here? She had made it clear the last time they had talked that a Delgado and a Bergmann could never be together. “Are you the town’s welcoming committee, or did they send you to warn us to leave, before the good townsfolk arrive with pitchforks and torches?”

Both boys looked up at him. Tomas had a deeper scowl than usual. “They don’t like us?”

Max closed his eyes, wishing he had kept his mouth shut.

Jackie walked around her car and stopped at the bottom step of the house. “No. You’re welcome here. Your brother was just trying to be funny. It’s been a long time, and the ranch has been...” She twisted her mouth as her gaze swept the fences that needed repair, the overgrown pastures and the weed-covered yard.

“Neglected?” He didn’t know why he was embarrassed by the condition of the ranch. Moving behind his brothers, he rubbed their heads. “We were just about to go in and inspect our living quarters. It’s a bit cold out here.”

“I hear you’re at the top of the ranks as a Professional Bull Rider. You hit the PBR as soon as you turned eighteen.”

Had she been following him? He liked the thought of that. She’d been in his thoughts just about every day since she walked away from him. No reason for her to know that.

He turned to the heavy oak door. The old key had to be jiggled a bit to fit in the knob. An odd sensation of coming home settled deep in his bones.

He shook it off. This was not home. The only reason he was here was to get the place ready to put on the market. And to get his body back into shape for the PBR finals.

Jackie’s boots hit the porch. “They said the cold front would be arriving tomorrow.” He could feel her right behind him. Her voice did the same strange thing to him as it used to. She continued on like it was not a big deal that they were standing so close after all these years. “Looks like they got it wrong.”

It had taken years to bury thoughts of her. Now he couldn’t think of anything else. “Yeah, they do that sometimes.”

“The reason I came out was to talk to you about the original town plot on the edge of the ranch. It borders our ranch. The church and school are well over one hundred years old. There might be some other buildings even older. Our mothers had been working to restore them and give them back to the town as a historical site. After they...after the accident it was forgotten. I’ve been trying to revitalize their dream. Your father hasn’t returned any of my emails, phone calls or letters. So, when I heard you were out here, I wanted to make sure I got to talk to you.”

He waited, but it seemed she had finally stopped talking. Was she nervous?

“My father was down in the Caribbean for the last month. There was a boating accident. He was killed along with his wife.” He nodded to the identical-looking brothers, who were now playing on the old porch swing. “Their mother.”

Her mouth fell open. “Oh, Max. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s actually been a little over a month. No one even knew they were missing at first. Anyway, that’s why he didn’t get back to you.”

“You have custody of the boys now?”

“Shared custody. An aunt on their mother’s side will be taking them. She has a job to finish overseas, then she’ll come pick them up for Christmas. Ethan is hanging with us for the holidays, then he heads back home to Chicago.” He made the mistake of looking at her.

Sadness clouded her eyes as the afternoon sun glistened off the moisture that hovered on her lashes. When they had met as teens, they discovered they were both motherless, something they had in common.

But the true shock came when her father found them at the dance together. Angry, he told them that Max’s mother had killed hers. The two women had been killed in the same accident here on the ranch.

After dropping that piece of news, he took Jackie away. But Max didn’t want to think about their parents now, or the summer he thought he had fallen in love.

Max shoved the door open and stepped into his grandfather’s home. Neglect had a smell. It was old and musty.

“This is where we’re staying?” Ethan didn’t look enthusiastic about the old ranch house.

Max started pulling back heavy drapes. He opened the windows. “It just needs to be aired out.” He sneezed as particles filled his nose.

“Look at this!” One of the boys, Isaac maybe, tried to climb onto an old Spanish saddle that sat behind the leather sofa.

“This is so cool!” A stuffed quail was inside a glass lamp, and cowhides and antlers decorated the room. The more energetic one—the one Max thought was Isaac—ran around the large living room touching the dust-covered furniture and fixtures. The river-rock fireplace opening was taller than the boys. The dining room could be seen on the other side.

“The outlets don’t work.” Ethan was back to staring at his phone. He frowned. “This place is ancient. Is there even electricity?”

“Of course, there’s electricity. This house was built in the early ’70s. We just need to dust everything off.” He flipped a switch, but the massive antler chandelier didn’t light up. He walked to the other wall and flipped everything on the panel. Nothing.

Jackie had her phone out. “I’ll call Mabel Horten at the co-op. She’ll know if it’s been turned off.”

His little brothers were opening cabinets and drawers and exploring with delight. At least they hadn’t complained about being hungry in front of Jackie. He needed to get food.

“Boys, be careful.” They ran to the door that went to the back part of the house. “Stay where I can see you. No telling what could be living here after years of being empty.”

“Cool!”

“Hi, Mabel...I need a favor. I’m out at the Delgado place...Yes, Max is in town...No, no wife. They’re his brothers...Yes.” She chuckled at something the person on the other end said. “Yeah, I know.” Then she shook her head. “No. We’re in the main house, and the lights aren’t working.”

He hated the thought that strangers were talking about him and the boys.

“Okay. Thanks...Yes, I’ll be at the church Wednesday night. Bye.” She turned to him. “It hasn’t been disconnected, so maybe it’s the breaker.”

“I think it’s in the washroom.” Bits and pieces of the house returned to his memories. Cutting across the dining room and through the vast country kitchen, Jackie followed him. He glanced back to make sure the boys were okay.

“Wow, I love this kitchen.” Jackie ran her hand over the old counter. “Just a few updates, and this would be a stellar place for a family.”

“We’re not staying that long.”

The boys had gotten quiet, so he checked the living room. Ethan had pulled out a box of old record albums and flopped in a leather armchair. Isaac and Tomas crowded around him.

Going back to the kitchen, Max found Jackie standing at an open door. He followed her into the large butler’s pantry. The door that led to the washroom was at the far end.

Behind the washroom door, he found the metal panel. Inside, taped tags curled, and some of them had fallen off. He flipped the longest row of switches. A loud pop came from below, and sparks flew. He threw his arm up to cover his face, and a sharp pain from his injured collarbone ran through his whole body.

Jackie gasped. “It’s on fire.”

Small flames danced along the wires that ran into the ceiling. Jackie ripped off her jacket and started swatting at the fire, trying to smother it. He took off his denim jacket, but she had it out before he could get his bum arm free.

She stepped back and scanned the ceiling. “That’s not okay.”

With the flames out, he checked the panel and made sure it was all turned off. What was he going to do now? It was getting colder, and with no heat or lights, they couldn’t stay here. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll call Sammi,” Jackie offered.

“Your little sister?”

“Not so little anymore. She’s a genius when it comes to fixing things like this.”

“Max! We’re starving!” Great. Bored with the old LPs, the boys were back to being hungry.

Ethan stood behind them. “I think it’s colder in here than outside.”

Jackie looked at the boys. “Want to go into town to get some food? And maybe some of the best hot chocolate in the world?” She looked up at Max. “The Hill Top Café has great burgers. That’ll give Sammi some time to see if she can get this working.”

The boys nodded. “Yes! Please, Max?”

Ethan joined them. “I’m starving, and my phone is dead. I’m sure the restaurant has electricity.”

Wow. Ethan had strung two whole sentences together. Max pushed back his hair. “I don’t know. I had planned to drive to Uvalde for supplies. I thought we could get something there.”

Jackie narrowed her eyes. “That’s an hour away. What’s wrong with buying your supplies in town? The local businesses would appreciate your shopping in Clear Water.” She crossed her arms. “My family owns the local hardware store and lumberyard. There are also ranch supplies at the feed store.”

With his brothers and Jackie watching him, there wasn’t one single excuse he could come up with to avoid town. She was the main reason he had planned to hide out on the ranch anyway.

First the barns weren’t sound, then Jackie showed up, now the house had no electricity. Even if it did, it wasn’t habitable. And he was out of food. He was pretty sure Parenting 101 said something about feeding kids on a regular basis.

“Okay. Let me unhitch the trailer and we can follow in my truck.”

In unison, a groan rose up from his brothers, and the matching glares from all three sets of brown eyes looked at him with the same disapproval he remembered from his father.

Jackie moved to stand next to the boys. “I came out to discuss a project we have planned for the original town buildings. Why don’t you let me drive? We can talk, then order supplies. I’ll text Sammi to look at the wiring. If she can’t do the work, she knows who can.”

“Yes. Yes! Please, Max. We’re starving. We can’t last another minute!” one of the boys pleaded with Max.

The other one joined in. “I’m so cold I’m turning into a icicle.” Were his brothers always this dramatic? Maybe this was normal for them. He didn’t even know what was normal for five- and six-year-olds. Especially when they’d lost both parents. He remembered feeling so lost and alone when his mother died, and all he had wanted was his dad. That hadn’t happened. But he could be here for his brothers.

“Okay. Okay. We’ll go into town with Jackie and get you fed. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Let’s at least wash up.” He went to the kitchen sink and turned the faucet. Did they even have water? The pipes sputtered and groaned, then an explosion of water came through and splashed him. Brown water.

Joining him, Ethan made a face. “Man, that’s gross.”

Jackie grimaced. “You might want to have the well and tank checked before you use that water. You can wash your hands at the restaurant. Sound like a plan?” She looked at him, waiting.