Tyler’s heart rate had finally slowed by the time he returned to the house. When he hadn’t been able to find Maddie in the barn or the house, he’d been scared out of his mind. When he’d finally thought about the bunkhouse, he’d spotted her almost immediately, her little purple shirt bright against the predominant browns and greens of the ranch. His first instinct had been to scold her for running off without telling him, but instinct told him that wasn’t wise. She was already so skittish that he didn’t want to add to whatever reason she had for being that way. He would just be glad she was okay and that Leah didn’t seem to mind hanging out with a five-year-old.
He climbed the front steps and took a deep breath before going inside. He considered going up to Maddie’s room to talk to her, but decided he’d make dinner first and they could talk over their meal. That was if Maddie would talk. He wondered for what felt like the millionth time why his niece was so quiet, why she’d changed so much from when she was a toddler.
When he finished cooking and set the food on the table, he called Maddie downstairs to eat. Not only was she quiet, but she wouldn’t even meet his eyes.
“Honey, I’m not mad at you, if that’s what you think. I was just worried because I didn’t know where you were. Why did you go up to Leah’s without telling me?”
She shrugged her little shoulders.
A part of him filled with an extra well of frustration. For some reason, Maddie had sought out a stranger to talk to instead of him. But if that would help her come out of her shell, he had to allow it and not let his own feelings get in the way.
“If Leah doesn’t mind, you can go up there to visit. Just always ask if it’s okay with her.”
Maddie nodded.
He ached to say more, to beg her to open up and talk to him, but he kept himself in check. His gut told him baby steps were the key to connecting with his niece again.
After they finished eating, Maddie asked to be excused. Though he really wanted her to stay and talk, he was too tired to figure out a new tactic. So he consented and she headed off to color or watch cartoons or whatever she had planned for her little girl evening.
Tyler couldn’t sit still, didn’t even take the time to clear the dishes from the table. He stalked outside and kept walking down the driveway. He wanted to scream at Kendra for abandoning her child, for whatever she’d done to make Maddie so withdrawn. How had his sister gotten so messed up? He wondered yet again if there had been anything he could have done to prevent it. Though he missed his parents, a part of him was glad they weren’t around to see what had become of their only daughter.
As he walked back toward the house, he spotted a light shining in the bunkhouse. He had the oddest urge to go sit on Leah’s porch with her the way Maddie had. But the last person he should be sharing his family drama with was a woman he’d met only a few days before. Even if doing exactly that tempted him like nothing had in a long time.
* * *
TYLER MUST HAVE given Maddie his okay to visit her because over the next three days, Maddie made an appearance on Leah’s front porch. They chatted about the ranch, Maddie’s favorite colors and the little stuffed puppy that Maddie often had with her. Leah found out the puppy’s name was Daisy and was Maddie’s best friend.
She’d gathered that Maddie was an only child. Being one herself, Leah understood the need to have a special friend.
“I had a stuffed bunny when I was a little girl. His name was Fluffy. Not too original, but he was my best friend, too.”
“Do you still have him?”
“No. When I grew up, he went to live with another little girl.” Okay, maybe that was a white lie. But even though she was pretty sure Fluffy ended up being donated to a thrift store, she found she liked the idea of him being a special friend to some other kid.
Maddie played with Daisy for a couple of minutes before shifting her gaze back to Leah. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“No, I’m an only child.”
“Like me.”
“Yes.”
“Is your mom gone, too?”
Gone? What exactly did Maddie mean by that? Leah swallowed, trying to figure out how best to respond.
“No. She and my dad live in Houston. I used to live there, too, until I moved here.”
“My mom didn’t want me anymore.”
Leah’s heart ached at the mixture of sadness and acceptance in Maddie’s voice.
“What do you mean, honey?”
“She left with her boyfriend.”
Had Maddie somehow construed her mom leaving Maddie with her uncle while her mother went on a vacation with her boyfriend as being abandoned? How long had she been gone anyway? Not wanting to upset Maddie any more, Leah didn’t ask her anything more about her mom.
“Your uncle Tyler seems like a nice guy.”
Maddie didn’t immediately reply, but after a couple of moments she nodded once.
Left not knowing what to say next, Leah was glad for the project she was just completing. “Maddie, can you come try this on? I want to see what it looks like on someone.”
Maddie got to her feet and crossed to Leah with less hesitance than she’d expected. Maddie extended her arm, and Leah slid the bracelet made from alternating pink and purple cat’s-eye beads onto Maddie’s wrist.
“It’s pretty. I like pink and purple.”
Leah smiled. “I’m glad you like it because I made it for you.”
Maddie’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a little. “For me?”
Leah nodded then pointed toward the silver-plated “M” that coexisted with the string of beads. “See, that’s for ‘Maddie’.”
Maddie ran the fingers of her other hand over the beads then along the shape of the “M” before suddenly wrapping her arms around Leah’s neck.
Tears stung Leah’s eyes, her heart filling with happiness that something as simple as a bracelet had made this little girl happy.
Beyond Maddie, Leah saw movement that turned out to be Tyler. He was staring at them as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Hi, Tyler,” Leah said as Maddie released her. She sensed that some part of Maddie wanted to share what she’d received with him. She lightly squeezed Maddie’s hand. “Why don’t you show your uncle your new bracelet?”
As if given a boost of courage, Maddie moved to the edge of the porch and extended her arm.
“Leah made it for me.”
The smile on Tyler’s face added to the full feeling in Leah’s heart.
“That was nice of her,” Tyler said, then looked beyond Maddie to Leah. He nodded in thanks.
“It was nothing. Maddie has been good company, helping me settle in.”
In that moment, Leah realized that she wasn’t just saying the words. The past few mornings she’d actually gotten up with a purpose for her days. Maddie might be only five, but Leah enjoyed spending time with her. And she’d made more jewelry in the past few days than she had in all the other time since the attack.
She still wasn’t comfortable enough to step outside at night and hadn’t gotten past jumping at every sound, but she had to believe that would come in time. After all, things were already better than when she’d first arrived on the ranch.
Despite how happy Maddie seemed now, Leah couldn’t forget what she’d said about her mother. She wanted to ask Tyler about it, but not with Maddie within earshot. Maybe it was good the opportunity didn’t present itself because, really, it wasn’t any of Leah’s business, no matter how protective she felt about Maddie after so little time of knowing her.
“Well, squirt, we need to head out. I’ve got one more job to do today.”
Maddie glanced back at Leah, but Leah didn’t feel she could offer to let Maddie stay with her. Having her watch her work within full view of the house and barn was one thing, but Tyler leaving his niece with an almost complete stranger was quite another.
“I bet you see lots of pretty horses going with your uncle,” she said instead. “Who knows, maybe you’ll work with animals when you grow up.”
“Or make jewelry.”
Leah smiled. “Or maybe both.”
As Tyler and Maddie headed down the driveway, Leah noticed that Maddie didn’t reach for her uncle’s hand. It could just be the girl’s independence asserting itself, but something didn’t sit right with Leah. Her gut told her that Tyler was a good guy and would never hurt Maddie, but something was going on. She couldn’t stop thinking about it as she started on another necklace-and-earring combo. Maddie’s words about her mother echoed in Leah’s head while she gathered up her supplies as the sun neared the horizon, and followed her as she went inside to make a sandwich.
When a stronger breeze started rustling the leaves on the oaks, she took her sandwich and lemonade outside to enjoy the sunset and slightly cooler temperature. As she was taking her last bite, she heard what she’d come to recognize as the sound of Tyler’s truck. She watched as he and Maddie carried grocery bags inside the house. The ongoing internal debate about whether she should mention to Tyler what Maddie had said didn’t show any signs of quieting.
By the time she saw Tyler come back out and head toward the barn, she realized she wasn’t going to be able to rest until she talked to Tyler. She took a deep breath, trying not to think that she was about to butt her nose into the family business of a man big enough to break her in two, and got to her feet.
When she reached the barn, Tyler was already busy cleaning out Comet’s stall. When he saw her, he stopped what he was doing.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
She hesitated, considering making up some story about why she was in the barn other than the real reason. But she’d come this far.
“I apologize in advance if this comes across as me being too nosy, but I wanted to make you aware of something Maddie told me today. I know sometimes kids can misinterpret things.”
“Okay.” He said the single word slowly, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear what she had to say.
Leah swallowed and shoved her hands into the pockets of her cargo capris. “She said her mother didn’t want her anymore. And the way she said it just broke my heart.”
At first Tyler didn’t say anything, but the way he was gripping the handle of the rake, as if choking the life out of it, lit a fire under Leah’s easy panic. Without even thinking about it, she took a step backward.
“Kendra has problems, and she left Maddie with me.”
Tyler sounded as if sadness was trying to hollow him out to make more room for itself. Something inside Leah responded to that, wanting to help him as much as she did Maddie. The fear of Tyler and what he could do to her ebbed, and she crossed to the outside of the stall.
“Has she been here long?”
“A few weeks.” He leaned the rake against the side of the stall but then looked like a boat adrift at sea without it. “Maddie didn’t used to be so quiet and withdrawn, but I hadn’t seen her much in the past couple of years. My sister was always drifting from one place to another, so sometimes I didn’t even know where they were.”
Leah was surprised Tyler was sharing so much, but she got the feeling it had been bottled up and festering since his sister had left Maddie with him.
“Is she an addict?”
His gaze came up to meet hers, seemingly surprised she’d come to that conclusion so easily. “Yes.”
“My best friend’s brother went through a really dark period with drug addiction, but he eventually got help and is doing much better now.”
The sadness in Tyler’s eyes yanked on her heartstrings.
“Kendra doesn’t want to be helped. Any time I’ve suggested it, she’s told me exactly where I can go.”
“But she must trust you or she wouldn’t have left her daughter with you.”
Tyler took off his hat and ran his fingers back through his hair. “More likely she’s burned all her bridges and she knew I wouldn’t refuse. Not that I had much time to do so. She barely stopped the car long enough to drop Maddie off.” He laughed, but it held no humor. “Her latest loser of a boyfriend didn’t even turn off the car’s engine.”
“I’m sorry. I know all of this must be hard for you. I hope I haven’t added to that.”
“Not at all.” He braced one tanned, muscled arm against the top of the stall next to the door. “Maddie has actually spoken a bit more since she started coming up to watch you work.”
“I’m glad if I was able to help in some way. She’s a sweet girl.”
An awkward silence descended between them.
“So that’s what you do for a living, make jewelry?”
Was he worried that she wouldn’t be able to pay the rent?
She nodded. “I sell through an online store and in various shops, like India Parrish’s in town.”
“Ah.” He nodded in acknowledgment.
Before the awkward silence could insert itself again, she said, “Speaking of, I better get back to it.” She turned to leave.
“Leah.”
She really liked the way her name sounded when he said it, more than she should. But it was unreasonable to expect her to not react to that deep, rumbling voice.
“Thanks for telling me about Maddie.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad you don’t think I overstepped.”
“I hope you don’t think I overshared.”
She smiled. “Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t really know.”
“Yeah.”
As Leah walked back to the bunkhouse, she felt better than she had in weeks. Maybe the key to helping herself was to focus on helping others. She glanced back toward the barn, wondering how she might be able to help Tyler.
She swore to herself it had nothing to do with how good-looking he was, how he stirred a buzzy awareness in her despite what she’d been through. As she stepped inside, she wondered if she was lying to herself.