Colter Gamblers: Gambling On A Heart Part 23

"Do you think your dad will be off work today? Since it's Sat.u.r.day?"

Mandy shrugged and pulled at the bottom of the t-s.h.i.+rt his mom had given her to wear as a nightgown over her knees. "I donno. Sometimes he's off. But usually he's workin'. He's tryin' to catch those bad guys who stole our horses." She puckered her brow again. "Why?"

He swallowed and looked down at the Batman comforter covering him. "Well, since my mom has to work at her shop today, I was wonderin' if I could come over to your place and he could teach me how to ride a horse. I liked it the other night when we got ice cream and he talked about his days in rodeo. He must've had lots of fun."

"He must like you, because he never tells me anything about when he rode broncos. I think he's afraid Momma won't like it."

"You said something like that before. That your mom wouldn't let your dad ride in the rodeo anymore. Why not?"

"I donno." Mandy sighed and averted her eyes to her hands lying in her lap. "I don't remember much about Momma now. Just things like her singing to me. She had a pretty voice. And us goin' to the park by our house before it got too cold. I remember more of bein' afraid of Daddy when he came back from the war. He always yelled at Momma and made her cry. I didn't like bein' at home when he was there. I liked staying with my Grammy and Pappy. They live on a ranch and have cows and horses and chickens."

What kind of person was Zack? Bobby remembered his dad's warning about Zack acting nice when he really wasn't. Maybe Dad was right. "How's your dad now?"

She perked up and smiled her gap-toothed grin. "Oh, now he's a lot different. He's real sorry about how he yelled at Momma and that I got so scared. He had thatthat P...P...Dsomething or other."

"P...T...S...D." He said each letter slowly so he wouldn't mess it up. "My uncle Dylan had it, too."

"That's it. Anyway, Daddy was real messed up after coming home from the war. He almost died. At least that's what I heard my Pappy tell someone once."

"My Uncle Dylan almost died, too. He was blown up. I've heard my granddad talk about it. Lots of soldiers get PTSD. I guess when they get over it they go back to being happy again. Uncle Dylan did after he met Aunt Charli."

"Daddy did when we moved here. I don't think he liked Wyoming."

"Why?"

She shrugged and pulled on her t-s.h.i.+rt again. "Donno. I don't think Pappy and Grammy liked him. And I don't think GrandmaDaddy's mommaliked my momma much either. She called her a bad name one day to my Aunt Winnie. They didn't know I was listenin'. Grandma said, 'Lisa's still controlling Zack even beyond the grave.'" She tilted her head and met Bobby's gaze. "I don't know what she meant, but that's when Aunt Winnie said Daddy needed a girlfriend."

Bobby didn't comment. What kind of marriage did Zack and Mandy's mom have? He knew his granddad and grandma didn't like his dad. If no one wanted her parents to get married and they fought all the time, maybe they had the same kind of marriage his mom and dad had. His mom seemed so sad before she divorced his dad. Now since Zack started coming around, she'd hum to herself and often smiled even when no one was around as if she was thinking of something she liked.

Maybe no one should get married at all. But then there was his granddad and grandma Quinn. They'd been married forever and still seemed to like each other. He caught his granddad kissing his grandma the day before they left to go back to Was.h.i.+ngton. Dylan and Charli always held hands, just as he'd seen his mom and Zack do the other night at the football game. He'd never seen such things between his mom and dad, even before they got divorced.

Did that mean his mom and dad really didn't like each other? But then why did they get married?

Mandy broke into his confusing thoughts. "Hey, do you wanna make 'em breakfast? Daddy likes Cheerios."

"Mom likes them, too." At the thought of Mandy and him making bowls of cereal and coffee for his mom and Zack like he'd seen in TV shows, he smiled. Maybe he could pretend Mandy was his little sister. He'd always wondered what having a little sister or brother would be like. "Yeah. Let's go." As they headed out the bedroom door, Bobby warned, "Oh, don't mention anything about what I told you. Kids aren't supposed to know about what grownups do. So, let's keep it our little secret. Okay?"

She took his hand and squeezed it as she pulled him along the hall to the stairs. "Okay."

The clanging of dishes echoed from the kitchen as Tracy and Zack descended the stairs. She turned and faced him. "Well, I think the kids are already up. Now what?"

He stopped in the foyer and glanced in the direction of the kitchen. "I could always go outside and ring the doorbell and they'll think I just got here."

With a raised brow, she laughed. "Zachery, that has to be the craziest thing you've ever come up with. How do you explain your wet hair or the fact you're holding your boots in your hand? It's almost as bad as the whopper you told my dad Christmas morning after bringing me home when we spent that night together."

He chuckled and shrugged. "I never figured he'd call my parents to check our stories. I only figured, if you called and told your dad and mom you were spending the night with my cousin Faith, they'd never question it. When he cornered me the next morning, I just spouted the first thing that popped into my mind, which was my truck broke down."

Amus.e.m.e.nt of the old memory brightened the stubble-rough face, and small crinkles creased the corners of his eyes. The light coming in the entry windows played over his damp hair and picked out gold highlights. Darker honey-colored ringlets curled at his ears. She remembered a younger Zack standing in this very same foyer and facing down an angry Bob Quinn. "What did Dad say to you, anyway? You've never told me."

Zack groaned and he lost the smile, but not the humor in his bottomless blue eyes. "He pulled me into the parlor and gave me the same speech he'd give to a new recruit."

Her eyes widened. "The safe-s.e.xAKA condomlecture?"

"You got it. That had to be the most embarra.s.sing conversation I've ever had."

She covered her mouth, but the snort escaped, and she laughed so hard tears came to her eyes. She leaned her forehead on his shoulder.

"Sure, laugh at my expense. It was d.a.m.ned embarra.s.sing enough when my old man told me that stuffa year too late, mind you. But to have my girlfriend's father do it was excruciating to say the least."

She wiped her eyes and looked into his contorted expression. "I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, my mother gave me a similar lecture about birth control pills. She was all ready to make an appointment at the doctor until I told her I'd been on the Pill since that September. I swear, I thought Mom was gonna fall off the chair. She had no idea I'd lost my virginity long before that Christmas Eve."

He chuckled and wrapped his free arm around her waist. His boots dangled at his side from his other hand. "No wonder your mother watched us like a hawk for a month of Sundays after that day. When will the general and your mom be home?"

She groaned and laid her head on his shoulder again, drinking in the easy, comfortable feeling. "They were going to leave Was.h.i.+ngton yesterday. She called me last night from Bristol, Tennessee. She said they should be here sometime Sunday afternoon, same day Dylan, Charli, and Annie are flying home."

"You don't sound happy about the return of your parents."

"I don't know how I feel. When Mom's here, she takes over. Not in a mean way and not even in a bad way, but she suddenly cooks every meal and does all the laundry and all the cleaning."

Zack snickered. "I figured you'd be loving that. You hate to cook, and I've never met a woman who likes to clean and do laundry."

"That's what I meant by not in a bad way. I do hate doing those things, but when she takes over it makes me feel"

"Inadequate?"

She pulled back and met his gaze. "Exactly. Like I don't already have enough to feel inadequate about. I love my parents, but sometimes I wonder how this living together is going to work. Sometimes I wish I'd just stayed in my apartment."

He lowered his brow in thought, but before he could speak, the kitchen door down the hall swung open. Zack jumped back as Mandy came running out. She was still dressed in a pink t-s.h.i.+rt Tracy had given her to wear. Mandy took their hands and pulled them into the kitchen.

"Hey, you sleepyheads, we made you breakfast!"

"Hi, Mom. I'm making toast and brewed coffee." Bobby stood on a footstool and bent over the counter to peer down in the toaster. "You'll have to pour the coffee, then I think we can eat." When the toast popped up, Bobby put it on a plate already piled high. He jumped off the stool and moved around the island to the table with the plate of golden toast. As he pa.s.sed them, he looked at Zack. "Morning, Sheriff."

Her eyes stung at the scene of him setting the plate on the table set with bowls of cereal, orange juice, and a jar of grape jelly.

Mandy pulled on her hand. "You sit here." Tracy obeyed and sat at the end of the table. "Daddy, you're here."

Zack put his boots beside the chair at the other end of the table. He looked across the meal their children had prepared and slowly sat in the chair. She sensed he was as overwhelmed as she was.

"This is really great," Zack said after clearing his throat, but his voice was still thick.

"Thanks, Daddy." Mandy beamed with pride. "Did you have a nice sleepover with Tracy, too?"

Across the table, Bobby narrowed his eyes on Mandy and shook his head. What was that about?

Then Mandy leaned toward him and said in a loud whisper, "I didn't say anything about s.e.x. But when the baby comes, I get to name her."

Bobby groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Oh, Mandy..."

Tracy's mouth dropped open, and she caught Zack's mortified expression. At long last, he rubbed back of his red-tinged neck and let out a long breath. "I stand corrected. This is the most embarra.s.sing conversation I've ever had."

"Yep." With her cheeks burning, she glanced at Bobby. "I think you and I need to have a talk, young man." Dear Lord, she hadn't planned to have that conversation for a few more years. Bobby's cheeks were red, and he stared at the table. Needing to do something, Tracy jumped up to pour coffee.

She returned with steaming cups and set one before Zack. His brows furrowed as he looked at his daughter. "Mandy, there isn't going to be a baby."

When her little face melted, Tracy felt the disappointment in her own heart. Mandy brightened almost instantly and shrugged. "That's okay. But I want a baby sister soon."

Tracy met Zack's gaze across the table as he swallowed hard enough to make his throat move. He looked at Mandy again. The warmth from earlier completely sucked from the room as surely as if an arctic breeze blew through, leaving it as cold as the empty s.p.a.ces in her heart.

"Mandy, there isn't going to be..." His husky voice drifted away with the bitter wind.

Tracy forced a shaky smile and laid a hand on Mandy's small shoulder. When the little girl turned bright, hopeful eyes on her, she fought the burn in her sinuses. "Why don't we talk about something else?" She pulled her hand away and glanced at Zack. "I was hoping we could have a barbeque Sunday night after my family comes home."

Zack shrugged and picked up his cooling cup of coffee. "Sure. Sounds fun."

An uneasy silence settled over them for a few moments and no one seemed interested in breakfast.

"Hey, Sheriff, do you have to work today?" Bobby flicked a glance at Tracy.

Zack shrugged and sat his mug on the table. "I was planning to. At least for a few hours this morning. Why do you ask?"

Bobby's shoulders slumped, and he picked up his spoon, but he only played in his cereal by stirring it. "It's nothin'."

Mandy reached for the sugar bowl and dumped two spoonfuls on her Cheerios. "Bobby wanted to come over to the CW so you can teach him how to ride."

"Mandy," Bobby chided again.

"Well, you did. I figured you could ride old Gra.s.shopper since he's nice."

Zack glanced at Tracy before saying to Bobby, "You'd like to go riding?"

Bobby shrugged one shoulder and kept on stirring his cereal. "You're busy, so don't worry about it."

Zack swallowed hard, besieged by so much emotion he wasn't sure what he felt. Despite the embarra.s.sment of a moment ago and the tension afterward, he couldn't deny he didn't want the time this morning to end. Somehow, he belonged here with this woman and their children. He wanted to take this little boy and tuck him under his wing.

"Daddy, do you really have to work today? I want to go riding with Bobby. I want to show him Holly and how I can ride around barrels on Poppy," Mandy whined, referring to her mare and pony. "Please, can't you take today off?"

Mandy never complained about him working. He knew she didn't always like it, but she hadn't ever asked him to stay home. He glanced at Bobbyhis face pinched in disappointment. When Zack lifted his eyes to Tracy's, he saw the hope in them. Did he really have to go in? Dawn, Wyatt, Herb, and the rest of his deputies had the investigations covered. At least, for a few hours.

"I suppose I don't have to go in to work today. I can check in later. Do you have to work this morning?"

Tracy sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately, Melissa and I have to do all the hair for the Oberton-Garcia wedding. Eight attendants, the bride and both mothers. They're coming in at nine and have to be done by one. I normally only work on the Sat.u.r.days Bobby's with Jake." She looked at Bobby. "Sorry, sweetheart, but I guess you've got to spend the day with me at the shop. Maybe later we can go over to the CW"

"You know I hate sittin' there! Why can't I just go with Dad? What happened yesterday at the court? Dad said you'd say anything to make him look like the bad guy."

The mix of anger and pain in Bobby's voice tugged at something in Zack's gut. He hated Jake Parker more than ever before. How could that b.a.s.t.a.r.d play on his own kid's emotions?

But it was the pain in Tracy's voice that clenched his heart. "Bobby, you don't understand everything that's going on. Your dad couldn't..."

Zack reached over and ruffled Bobby's hair. "How about you come over to the ranch with Mandy and me while your mom's at work?"

Bobby pulled away from Zack's touch and looked at Tracy.

She smiled and met Zack's gaze, then said to Bobby, "It's okay with me if you want to go with Zack."

"But Dad doesn't"

"Your dad isn't making decisions for you," Tracy interrupted. "I think it's high time for you to learn to ride, and Zack is the best rider I know."

Bobby looked up at him. The boy's apprehension was almost palpable, but so was his antic.i.p.ation. "You'll teach me how to ride?"

"You bet, buddy."

"Yay!" Mandy jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"Well, then. I think we should start eating this great breakfast you two made." Tracy reached for the milk carton and poured some over her Cheerios.

Zack caught Tracy's gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. What would life with her be like? d.a.m.n, he wished he could allow himself to find out.

Chapter 16.

Zack and Tracy made their way through the packed barroom. They found a small table in the back when another couple got up and left. Zack wished the stage was easier to see, but it was the best they could do.

On the stage, Logan sang one of his own songs about a brokenhearted rodeo cowboy. His deep voice had the usually rowdy Longhorn crowd mesmerized, and the dance floor packed with couples two-stepping.

When Tracy sat in the chair he held out for her, Zack was. .h.i.t with her perfume. The light flowery scent hit him hard in the pit of his gut. He took the seat beside her and draped his arm over the back of her chair.

Julie Larson approached, took their drink orders and collected the cover charge for the live entertainment. Although he saw curiosity in the waitress's smile, she kept the conversation short when he handed her his credit card. She headed off to give the order to her older brother behind the bar.

The day had turned out to be a good one. While Tracy had gone to her shop, he'd taken Bobby and Mandy back to the CW. There he, with Mandy's help, had taught Bobby how to sit a horse, and how to ride around the same corral where Zack had learned to ride his first pony when he was still a baby. He'd been surprised at how easy the kid caught on, and how well he'd done in the saddle. The three of them eventually had gone for a ride through the pasture near the barn.

After a supper of hamburgers and potato salad at the ranch, Amy Jackson had come to sit with Mandy, and Tracy had taken Bobby to her friend's place to spend the evening. Logan was done at eleven o'clock, which was perfect so she could take Bobby home.

As much as Zack wanted to spend the night tangled in the sheets with Tracy, she'd said that she couldn't leave Bobby with a friend while she spent the night with him. She didn't want to give Jake that much advantage in his custody case by doing exactly what he'd been accusing her of. Even though the devil would be ice fis.h.i.+ng in the bowels of h.e.l.l before Jake Parker ever won a custody case, Zack humored her. Besides, hearing his little girl say the S word that morning was enough to dunk his libido into a bucket full of ice.

Julie brought their drinks. He took a sip of his c.o.ke and sat back to watch Tracy. She looked every bit a cowgirl in tight jeans, tailored white Western s.h.i.+rt with red roses embroidered across the yoke and red lace at the collar and cuffs. But the s.e.xiest things she was wearing were her red cowboy boots and a doe-colored Stetson. Would she ever agree to have s.e.x with him wearing only her boots and hat and nothing else?

When Logan started the next songa cover of Restless Heart's I'm Still Loving You, she turned to him. "Want to dance?"