For His Daughter's Sake Page 3

  There was a long pause before Dean finally answered, “What has you so messed up tonight, Ty? Is it the idea of Gabe and Mel getting married? Does it remind you of everything you lost? If that’s the case, you’re going to have to dig down and find some inner strength from somewhere. Because we’re always going to have friends or relatives falling in love and getting married. If you can’t deal with that, you’re going to have a mental and physical breakdown.”

  “I’m so glad you called tonight, brother. This is just what I needed to hear,” Tyler muttered. “That I’m going to end up being a nutcase who can’t take care of myself or my daughter!”

  “Okay. Go ahead and wallow in self-pity,” Dean shot back. “I’m getting sick of trying to talk sense into you. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Wait, Dean!” Tyler managed to bluster before his brother ended the connection. “I—You’re right. I sound miserable and ungrateful. I get that you’re trying to help me. I’m not myself tonight. I’ve had a long day and need some rest.”

  A few silent seconds ticked by before his older brother replied. “I understand, Ty. Up to a point. I only want you to be happy—to make an effort to be happy. No one is saying it will be easy. But I happen to have faith in you. To believe you can do better than what you’re doing now.”

  This wasn’t the first lecture or pep talk he’d gotten from a family member, and it would hardly be the last. But Tyler wasn’t in the mood tonight.

  “I’ve been trying, Dean. But it’s damned hard when I’m being stretched in all directions. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to snap.”

  Dean said, “Maybe you need to decide what’s most important to you. Showing everyone what a diligent dad you are to Maeve? Or letting them see that, like the rest of us humans, you could use a little help?”

  “If you’re talking about getting a full-time nanny for Maeve, forget it,” he said brusquely. “She’s my responsibility. I’m not going to let her down. I failed with Luanne. I can’t fail with my daughter.”

  “The only way you can fail now, Ty, is to let the past control your future. Think about that, won’t you?”

  “Sure, I’ll think about it.” That’s all he did anyway. Think until he was sure his mind was going to explode from the overload.

  To Tyler’s relief, Dean changed the subject and, after discussing a few projects their father had planned for the next few days, he ended the call.

  Raking both hands through his hair, he went into the den and sat, resting his head against the back of the armchair.

  No matter where in the house he happened to be, or even if his eyes were closed, he could still see Luanne carrying Maeve on her shoulder as she’d walked from room to room trying to calm her incessant crying.

  Maeve had never been a contented baby. For the first three months of her life, she’d suffered with bouts of colic. Tyler had tried to help his wife care for their new daughter, but he’d been totally inept at quieting the baby. The moment he’d take Maeve into his arms, she would scream that much louder. He’d rocked and hummed and rubbed her tummy, anything and everything to try to soothe her. But the baby had wanted no part of him. She’d only wanted her mother.

  During those first couple of months after Maeve was born, Tyler had tried to keep his unease hidden, but deep inside he’d been terrified of fatherhood. He hadn’t known the first thing about baby care. Hell, he’d been a cowboy. The only kind of babies he’d ever cared for were calves and foals. Maeve had been so tiny, just holding her had nearly put him in a panic. But he’d been too embarrassed and ashamed to admit his fears to anyone.

  You’re only making her cry louder, Ty. She can tell you’re nervous. She can feel that you don’t want to hold her. You’re no better at being a father than you are a husband!

  Tyler figured if he lived to be a hundred he’d never forget the words Luanne had flung at him. How could he forget, when everything she’d said had been the truth? He’d been a miserable husband.

  After knowing her for only a short time, he’d married a city girl from Chicago without contemplating the consequences. He’d foolishly assumed she would settle into life on the ranch and love it as much as he loved it. He hadn’t considered how isolated the Montana countryside would feel to her, or how much she would miss her friends and the busy life she’d led back in the city.

  Once the hot attraction that had initially pulled them together had cooled, their differences had stood like a fence between them. Luanne had begun to beg him to leave the ranch and move to Chicago where she could be near her family and the lifestyle she was accustomed to. But Tyler had refused. The ranch was his lifeblood. His home was in Montana and he’d been smart enough to know he’d be miserable trying to fit into Luanne’s city life.

  Arguments and silent tension had taken hold of their lives. Then Luanne had unexpectedly become pregnant and, for a while, they’d both focused on the coming child and a hope that it would draw them closer together. When Maeve had been born, they’d truly been thrilled. But then had come the hard part—caring for a tiny human being twenty-four hours a day.

  For the first month, Luanne’s mother had come to help her daughter with the baby. Her supportive presence had allowed Tyler to get back to his ranch duties. But once his mother-in-law had returned to Chicago, Luanne had once again been swamped with caring for a fussy baby, with no help from Tyler.

  Weeks passed, but time hadn’t improved the situation. Maeve had continually cried with bouts of colic and Luanne had grown ever more exhausted. Tyler’s efforts had been useless and, feeling more helpless than he’d ever felt in his life, he’d begun to work later and later, doing any and every ranch chore he could find just to avoid facing Luanne’s unhappiness and Maeve’s crying.

  Something has to give around here, Tyler. I’m exhausted! If you can’t step up and be a father, then I’m going back home to Chicago and taking Maeve with me. At least there, I’ll have someone who’ll love and support me!

  Maeve had been crying when Luanne had handed her over to Tyler and, with helpless desperation, he’d watched his wife snatch up the car keys and practically run to the front door.

  I’m going out. Somewhere. Anywhere to get a break. I’ll be back in a few hours.

  Those had been the last words Luanne had said to him.

  He had watched and waited for her return, but she’d never made it back to the ranch. The next morning, the local authorities had found her wrecked car.

  Tyler had been in shock, along with his family and the local community. Some townsfolk had even whispered and wondered why a young wife with a baby had been out driving the roads at such a late hour. After a few days, an autopsy had revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in Luanne’s system. And due to the fact that it was a single-car accident with no brake marks on the highway, it was determined that she had simply fallen asleep behind the wheel.

  Tyler could say exhaustion had killed her, but it wasn’t that simple. As far as he was concerned, he’d killed Luanne just as surely as if he’d put her in that car and purposely pushed the vehicle off a cliff. If he’d been any kind of husband at all, he would’ve run after her and stopped her from driving away. He would’ve realized his wife had reached the breaking point. And no matter how awkward he’d felt when he’d tried to pacify Maeve’s cries, he should’ve made a better effort to be a useful father and do his part of the parenting.

  But it was too late to change the course of events that had taken Luanne’s life. Even admitting he’d been a failure as a husband and father wouldn’t bring her back.

  Tyler’s brothers and parents wanted him to move forward, to be happy. None of them really understood that Tyler was undeserving of happiness. No one realized that the only way he could make up for Luanne’s death was to devote himself to caring for Maeve.

  If Luanne could speak to him from the grave, she’d probably tell him his effort was too little too late. And ma
ybe it was. But devoting himself to Maeve was all he had left.

  * * *

  After a second cup of coffee, Callie had sufficient energy to keep her eyelids open, although the caffeine wasn’t enough to make her feel human. After a few short hours of sleep, she’d somehow managed to drag herself into work on time this morning, but only half of her brain was willing to focus on her job. The other half was stubbornly stuck on Tyler Abernathy. Darn it! She wished she’d never met him.

  No. That wasn’t exactly true. She’d liked meeting Tyler. She just hadn’t enjoyed her stammering, red-faced reaction to the man.

  Why in the world had Erica called her over in the first place? Surely the man hadn’t asked to meet her, Callie thought. From the gossip she’d heard being passed around the shower guests, Tyler had only been a widower for a few short months. The thought of dating again was probably the last thing on his mind.

  Yet even that sobering fact hadn’t been enough to push Tyler out of Callie’s thoughts. She’d spent most of the night tossing and turning while the ridiculous notion that he needed her kept running through her mind. Where was that idea coming from? Callie wasn’t good with babies. She hardly knew anything about them. How could she possibly help him?

  Not wanting to dwell on that question, she leaned closer to the monitor and, with a weary yawn, squinted at the list of tours scheduled for tomorrow. Saturday was always their busiest day of the week and, with tourists getting in last-minute vacations before school began next month, she expected even more traffic to pass through the doors of Bronco Ghost Tours.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, want to see what I have?”

  Callie looked away from the monitor to see Saundra, the spirited redhead who helped with bookings and merchandise sales.

  “Let me guess. Lunch for the whole office?”

  Divorced and somewhere in her midthirties, Saundra was usually in a good mood and this morning was no exception. She laughed at Callie’s suggestion.

  “I’m a generous person, but my wallet isn’t feeling that fat right now. But I will spring for your lunch today, if you’d like to go with me to Bronco Java.”

  Bronco Java and Juice, a cozy coffee shop and juice bar, also served breakfast and lunch. The food was great and the atmosphere casual. In spite of Zach never wanting to go there, it was one of Callie’s favorite places to eat in Bronco Heights. But she could happily say that Zach didn’t matter to her anymore. These past months she’d looked back and realized that he’d been all about himself. She didn’t need or want that kind of selfish man in her life.

  “That’s the best offer I’ve had all week. I’ll be ready,” Callie told her, then gestured to the box. “What’s really in there? A headless ghoul to hang in the window?”

  Saundra chuckled again. “Not exactly, but you’re close. This is Ghost Tour merchandise Evan ordered a few weeks back. It’s mostly the same things we’ve offered for sale before, but the colors and designs are different. He wants some of it displayed in the front windows and I’m thinking we need to make some sort of spooky background to show it off better.”

  Frowning, Callie racked her brain to remember Evan ordering new merchandise. “My memory must’ve gone on the blink since then. Let’s see.”

  Saundra carried the box over to Callie’s desk and placed it on the only bare space she could find between the stacks of files and folders.

  Digging into the items, Saundra pulled out two coffee mugs. “See, aren’t these cute? Bronco Ghost Tours on one side and the image of a ghost on the other. Frankly, I like the red one—it goes with my hair,” she said impishly. “But the black looks spookier. I’m betting the black sells out first.”

  Callie peered into the box. “Is that T-shirts in there, too?”

  “Sure is. Not a big variety of sizes yet. Evan says he wants to see how they sell before he invests in a bunch of them. These are mainly medium and large sizes. Guess he doesn’t think little things like you would want to wear one.”

  Callie picked up one of the shirts and held it up. Like the mugs, the garment had Bronco Ghost Tours stamped across the chest. Below the logo was the image of several hooded, faceless ghouls wearing Stetson hats.

  “Hmm. Kind of cute. These should sell. Especially when the rodeo comes to town. Or after a tour and the guests are feeling relieved that they weren’t attacked by a ghost or goblin,” Saundra commented.

  Callie laughed. “Ridiculous, isn’t it, how some people feel all creepy-crawly at the mere mention of a place being haunted?”

  Saundra looked at her. “You don’t?”

  Shaking her head, Callie said, “I’m too practical. Or maybe a better word is unimaginative.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Saundra replied. “You’ve come up with some great ideas for tour sites. Evan says you have a knack for knowing what draws in tourists and holds their interests.”

  “That’s my job. I can make myself think like other people. I just can’t think for myself,” Callie joked. “And this morning my brain is really struggling. I think I slept about two hours before the alarm went off.”

  “Wow! The bridal shower lasted that long?”

  It wasn’t the shower, but the aftermath of it that had kept Callie flopping back and forth and punching her pillow in an effort to get comfortable.

  Rubbing a hand across her pinched forehead, she said, “The shower ended at a reasonable hour. I had a sleepless night, that’s all. Too much cake and punch, I suppose.” Along with too much tall, dark and handsome, she thought.

  Saundra looked at her. “I’ll bet the shower was really something. The Ambling A ranch house is a mansion and the Abernathys go all-out with everything they do.”

  The Abernathys were a huge family with several branches. Even Evan Cruise and his sister Vanessa had recently learned they were related to the family through their grandmother Daisy who’d turned out to be the biological daughter of Josiah Abernathy.

  Most of the Abernathys around Bronco were extremely wealthy ranchers, but Callie didn’t know whether that applied to Tyler and his branch of the family. He didn’t seem like a man loaded with money. But appearances could be deceiving. Not that it mattered to her whether Tyler had a bulging bank account or was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

  Callie replied, “Melanie received tons of gifts. Once she and Gabe are married, they won’t have to buy a thing for their home.”

  “Ah, the rosy haze of love, the special plans and dreams,” Saundra said cynically. “I hope it all lasts for them. Mine didn’t. But, what the heck. I’m happy now.”

  Was she? Callie wanted to ask her, but didn’t. Since Zach had ended things with Callie and moved away from Bronco, she’d experienced the sting of rejection and the loneliness that followed. She didn’t know what had caused Saundra’s divorce, but she figured the woman had suffered because of it.

  Saundra reached into the box again. “There are a few more things in here. Ghost Tour bookmarks, caps and journals. To write down all your ghostly experiences so you won’t forget the details,” she added jokingly. “Want to help me fix the window display? I thought we might drape some cobwebs and hang a few bats around. What can we use for a backdrop?”

  Callie thought for a moment. “I got it. Somewhere in the storage room, there’s a large poster of the old hotel that used to be in Bronco Heights years and years ago, before it burned to the ground. The building had a haunted look about it. In fact, I’ve heard some real tragic stories about its history. Even that a jilted lover caused the fire that destroyed it. Too bad it isn’t still around. Bronco Ghost Tours would make a killing—pardon the pun—off of it.”

  Saundra’s grin was wicked. “That sounds perfect! Let’s go see if we can find the poster. Maybe we can have the display finished by the time Evan gets back from his meeting.”

  * * *

  Tyler’s watch showed half past noon when he parked his truck near Bro
nco Java and Juice and lifted Maeve from her safety seat. The popular eating spot would be especially busy at this time of day, but Tyler couldn’t help the timing. He had not even expected to be in Bronco today. But the hay baler had suddenly stopped twining the bales, putting a pause on the whole project.

  His father had sent Tyler into town to buy a part at the local tractor and farm machinery store to repair the problem. But the piece had to be ordered and wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

  After calling to give his father the disappointing news, Tyler had decided he might as well feed himself and Maeve before he drove back to the Flying A.

  Inside the busy place, he found a vacant table not far from the juice bar. Once he’d situated Maeve in a high chair and a waitress had taken his order, he pulled a sippy cup from the baby’s diaper bag and filled it with formula from a bottle.

  The moment Maeve spotted the bottle in Tyler’s hand, she began to whimper and reach for it. He quickly thrust the bottle back in the bag and offered the cup to the baby.

  “No bottle right now, sweetheart,” he gently explained to his daughter. “You’re getting to be a big girl. You need to learn how to drink from your cup.”

  She protested with another loud whine before she decided the bright orange cup looked interesting and latched a tight grip around it. Relieved, Tyler helped her tilt the spout to her little lips.

  “See, that’s yummy. Just like your bottle,” he said to the baby.

  Maeve moved her mouth away from the spout and gave him a loud, happy coo and a grin that revealed one pearly tooth on her bottom gums.

  Tyler was wondering if he was getting better at being a father or if Maeve was growing out of her tantrums, when he suddenly spotted Callie Sheldrick passing by a few steps from his table.