“ATTENTION! ATTENTION!”
The babble of voices continued unchecked, despite Maverick’s shout. Both the chattering Cade and Loveland clans were crammed into the Loveland main house’s kitchen. Oversize cowboys and their partners occupied every inch of space, the temperature rising with the noise. The aroma of pot roast and homemade rolls lingered in the thick air despite being cleared with the last of the supper dishes twenty minutes ago. Outside, the children played tag in the early fall evening while awaiting dessert.
Glancing out the window, Daryl spied the growing number of grandkids speeding through the dim, his own two in the mix. Noah’s bray caught Daryl’s ear and he smiled at Emma’s wagging finger and sassy grin as she tagged Javi. They were happy, and so was he since discovering the truth about his and Leanne’s troubled past.
He slid his gaze to Cassidy, then bit back a chuckle when she crossed her eyes at him, briefly, before assuming her serious expression again.
He loved her playful side.
Loved the way she made him, and his children, laugh again.
She’d expanded their world with bold adventures while making them feel accepted and cared for in their own skins. Especially him. With Cassidy, he didn’t have to prove himself or overcompensate for feeling like an outsider.
A few days ago, when they’d uncovered Leanne’s emails, his heart had split in two. He’d suspected he’d disappointed Leanne for not loving her the way she deserved. He’d never known the catalyst for destroying their marriage had been his selfishness in keeping Cassidy’s ring, though. Because of it, Leanne had meant to leave him. Understanding his role in their estrangement hurt with a near physical ache, yet Daryl’s grief had eased as the days passed and his heart opened further to Cassidy.
She’d been willing, once, to give up her career and settle down with him. Would she again? She’d had her dream career for a decade. It might not be as easy to walk away now. He’d been giving her room to think, but he needed to broach the topic and settle things between them with Thanksgiving so near and Christmas fast on its heels. Beyond stolen kisses and surreptitious hand-holding, they’d steered clear of serious talk this past week.
A loud whistle erupted, stunning everyone into temporary silence. Jewel stood on a chair. Her red hair flamed along with her freckled cheeks. She lowered her fingers from her mouth and pointed at the group. “Y’all are acting like naughty schoolkids. Pay attention to Maverick or I’ll take you behind the shed.” She tapped the leather belt holding up her Wranglers and jumped down with a wink, Heath’s hands going to her tiny waist. “It’s taken forever for all of us to square our busy schedules and meet and we have to make the most of it.”
“Thank you, Jewel.” Maverick’s deep blue eyes resembled the sea before a storm. Calm with a hint of trouble ahead. “First off, thank you, ladies, for the fine meal.”
“I didn’t do anything,” scoffed Jewel.
“Exactly why I’m including you in the thanks,” Maverick drawled with a grin. The Cade brothers guffawed loudly in approval.
Heath dropped a quick hand to Jewel’s arm, checking her before she executed one of her trademark shoulder jabs.
“So funny I forgot to laugh,” Jewel jeered, but good-naturedly.
“You’re welcome for the meal.” Joy rose slowly to her feet. “Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by family. We should have dessert before the pies get cold.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk over a couple of things first.”
At Maverick’s request, Joy dropped back in her chair and cast a wary glance Boyd’s way.
“What do we know about this Neil fellow besides him being a conniving cheat out to steal our ranch?” Maverick produced his cell phone and tapped on its screen. “He’s nowhere online. Might as well be a ghost.”
Cole linked his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “I’d like to turn him into one.”
“Those are some fighting words,” Heath murmured near Daryl’s ear.
“It’s time we get rid of this guy before Pa’s blood pressure goes up any higher.” Daryl kept his voice low since only he and Heath knew their father’s doctor advised hypertension medication if his numbers remained high.
“Neil’s taking care of a stray dog,” Sierra volunteered, surprising them. “He brought it to my practice thinking I’m a regular vet.”
A blip of silence passed before Maverick spoke again. “He’s got a place in town? Not a hotel room?”
Sierra nodded. “Not sure where, though.”
“That means he’s here for the long haul,” Travis muttered.
“I might have an idea where he’s staying.” Cole shifted in his seat, his arms crossed. “Stopped by Aunt Suzanna’s place and spied a rental car in the driveway. Now that I think of it, I saw the same blue sedan in the country store’s parking lot when he came skulking around.”
“You think she’d take him in?” gasped Sierra. She scooped up their tabby, kissed its nose, then settled it in her lap.
“Makes no sense,” Heath mused, and Daryl nodded. Their great-great-aunt, an eccentric and former hoarder, had lived a solitary life, rarely leaving her house save for Sunday services.
“Why would she take in company, especially one intent on upending our family?” Travis propped a shoulder against the wall and stared off into space. He wore the same inward expression he assumed when mulling over clues in his cases. Lately he’d been wearing it more often as cattle rustling escalated in their sleepy community.
“Could be he’s charmed her.” Cassidy tapped a fingernail on the side of her water glass. “Made himself helpful to Aunt Suzanna in some way.”
“She wanted me to replace her screens with storm windows,” Cole said slowly. “But when I arrived, someone had already done it.”
“Neil!” Boyd’s face flushed red. “If he gets her to testify on his behalf, he might persuade the judge to exhume my father.”
“She’d never!” Sierra exclaimed, then turned to Cole, who knew Aunt Suzanna best. “Would she?” The cat’s loud purr rose as she stroked its arching back.
“She likes historical intrigue.” Cole glanced at the living room, where the TV played a Broncos game. Later tonight, they’d planned to watch the season finale of his wife Katlynn’s show, Scandalous History. Aunt Suzanna had helped Cole and Katlynn solve the century-old mystery of the events causing the Cade-Loveland feud. If not for their work, the families wouldn’t have reconciled, and Boyd and Joy’s marriage might not have occurred.
“She was the local historian for years,” Daryl reminded the group, then clamped a hand on his jiggling knee. Beneath the table, Cassidy’s soft hand slid into his and squeezed. His heart rate settled. It felt good to have someone on his side, a partner. But for how long? “She might have some insights to Grandpa’s past that we don’t.”
“I’d know if Pa had another son.” Boyd’s frown eased when Joy patted his arm.
“Could be Grandpa didn’t know.” Travis rocked back on his heels. “I’ll swing by Aunt Suzanna’s tomorrow. I’ve got another report of missing cattle at Fuller’s place, so it’s on the way.”
“Can you arrest Neil?” Jewel asked hopefully. “And can I help?”
“Likely to get yourself arrested in the process,” Heath said affectionately. He smoothed down one of Jewel’s cowlicks before pressing a brief kiss to her nose.
She glared but made no move away from her fiancé.
“Can’t bring any charges unless Aunt Suzanna says he’s trespassing...” Travis’s fingers drummed on his gun belt’s empty holster. He’d driven straight from the county sheriff’s office for the family meal and had locked his firearm in Pa’s gun safe.
“Cassidy and I will pay Aunt Suzanna a visit,” Daryl offered. “She always liked Cassidy. Plus, Cassidy’s an investigative journalist. She’ll get to the bottom of what’s going on.”
His mouth curled at Cassidy’s pleased smile. Maverick arched a brow, Sierra pursed her lips and the family shot Daryl and Cassidy assessing looks.
Would they approve of his pursuing Cassidy so soon after losing Leanne? Would they expect him to wait? But he’d already waited too long for Cassidy and let her go without a fight—a mistake he would not repeat.
“Sounds like a plan, and if we’re all agreed...” Maverick’s gaze circled the table. “I’d like to hire a private investigator to look into Neil and his mother.”
“Can’t ask you to put out that much cash,” Boyd protested. While he appreciated his children’s physical help, he refused their monetary aid.
“You’re not,” Maverick countered, firm. His cleft chin jutted. “I’m offering. In fact, I’m insisting unless anyone has an objection. The more dirt we can get on this guy before the trial, the better. Agreed?”
A rousing chorus of “yes” filled the room.
“Now that’s settled, let’s get dessert.” Joy bustled to the counter, retrieved a stack of dessert plates and turned. Without warning, the color in her face faded and the dishes crashed to the tiled floor.
They all leaped to their feet, overturning chairs in their hurry to help. Boyd rushed around the table and led Joy back to her seat while Jewel pushed a glass of water into her mother’s trembling hand. Within minutes, they’d disposed of the broken pottery and wiped down the floor.
“How about paper plates?” Joy laughed shakily. “Guess we don’t need to be fancy since it’s just family.”
“Ma. Enough.” James Cade, Joy’s second-oldest son, squatted beside his mother’s chair. “Maverick and I’ve been talking.”
“That sounds bad,” Jewel wisecracked, then sobered when she spied James’s subtle head shake.
Silently, Daryl agreed with Jewel. James’s siblings complained about his controlling ways and Maverick prided himself on sticking his nose into others’ problems, whether he was asked or not. Growing up, each of his siblings turned to him with their troubles, to keep from adding on to their overworked Pa’s worries. However, once the family returned to stable ground, Maverick never relinquished his role as “fixer” or understood they didn’t need or want his help anymore.
“We’re worried about you.” Maverick paced the length of the kitchen with enormous strides. “And want you to see the doctor and get tested now versus after the holidays.”
Joy’s mouth dropped open. Her silver bob swished when she snapped her head to face Boyd. “Did you know about this?”
Pa shook his head. The dark pouches beneath his eyes and the extra groove in his forehead showed he was as concerned as their combined offspring. “Not opposed to the intention, though Joy has the final say. And I would have appreciated a heads-up.” His dark blue eyes pinned each of his children in turn.
“Every time I’ve scheduled a family meeting, it’s gotten postponed.” Maverick shoved a large hand through his clipped hair, making it stand at odd angles.
Boyd’s face scrunched. “No one’s mentioned them.”
“I kept them from you,” Joy admitted, stunning the group. No one took so much as a breath. “I guessed Maverick’s intention and didn’t want to hear what the group had to say. Not before the holidays.”
“What good’s saving this holiday if we end up not having you at the next one?” growled Justin Cade, the reformed black sheep of the Cade clan.
“Don’t be harsh with Ma.” Jared Cade’s chair scraped the floor when he stood and strode to his mother. He dropped a protective hand to her shoulder.
“I love you, Ma, but your head’s in the sand.” Jewel banged the side of her balled hand on the table. “Talking loud’s the only way you’ll hear us.” The prickly cowgirl jerked her arm free of Heath’s hold and dashed the shine from her eyes.
“Children, please,” protested Joy. “Don’t argue. The whole point of waiting was to give us peace during the season.”
“It ain’t peaceful not knowing where things stand.” Boyd caressed the side of Joy’s face. “If the cancer’s back, the sooner we treat it, the better.”
“But if it’s back, then...” Joy’s mouth trembled.
Sierra reached across the table and grabbed Joy’s hand. “Then you’ll get the right medical treatment and beat it. With all of us by your side.”
Murmurs of agreement circled the table and Jewel added her hand atop Sierra’s and Joy’s.
Joy’s lips lifted in a tremulous smile. “I don’t want to ruin Christmas. Thanksgiving.”
“You think that means anything to us compared to you?” Boyd exclaimed. He blinked hard up at the ceiling, his jaw clenched.
“We love you more than Santa, Grandma!” Javi flung himself across the room and landed heavily on Joy’s and Boyd’s laps.
Joy’s face fell when she observed Emma’s and Noah’s stricken faces. Daryl’s heart dropped with it. They’d been so intent on the conversation they’d missed the children’s entry.
Noah covered his face with his hands and asked through his fingers, “Grandma Joy? Are you going to die?”
“Honey.” Joy lowered his hands to give him a reassuring look. “I’m going to be just fine. I already beat cancer. This little tiredness is nothing to worry about.”
“Will you go to the doctor so he makes you better?” Noah’s lower lip trembled.
“I promise.”
The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Pa didn’t say anything about cancer! He never tells us what’s going on!” Emma yelled, then dashed back outside.
With a muttered oath, Daryl tore after her, Cassidy hot on his heels. He caught up to Emma on the steps of the gazebo, where dried mums wilted in box planters.
Daryl sat beside his tense daughter and gathered her close. When she pushed him away, he tightened his grip until her body eased against his and she released sob after sob. “Why do I always lose people I love?” she cried.
Daryl’s chest tightened. He’d grown up worrying about the same thing. Still agonized over it. Leanne was gone and, if he didn’t move fast, possibly Cassidy, too.
“You haven’t lost Grandma Joy.” Cassidy brushed a hand over Emma’s hair and her concerned eyes met Daryl’s. The depth of her feelings for his children touched him. How would Noah and Emma handle it if she left them? Another loved one gone. His jaw clamped. He couldn’t let that happen.
“She has cancer!” Emma lifted a tearstained face. “Everybody knew but me and Noah.”
“I thought you had enough to handle after losing your ma.”
“I could have made her a card,” Noah spoke up behind them. Cassidy opened her arms and he crept onto her lap and buried his head on her shoulder. “Grandma Joy needed us.”
“You always keep secrets,” Emma sniffled, accusing Daryl. “I’m not a baby.”
“I tell you everything I can.”
“You never said where Mama went all those nights. Or why she was in the car with Aunt Cassidy.”
“We still don’t know the answer to that last one, sweetheart.” He tucked her head into his shoulder and stroked a hand down her back.
“Will Aunt Cassidy ever get her memory back?” Noah wrapped one of Cassidy’s locks around his finger.
“I hope so, honey,” Cassidy vowed. “I’m trying very hard to remember.”
“Are you going away?” Noah said, his voice muffled against Cassidy’s neck. “I want you to stay forever and ever.”
“Me, too!” Emma straightened in Daryl’s arms. “What about you, Pa? Do you want Aunt Cassidy to stay?”
“I do,” he declared, his gaze locked on Cassidy. Seeing his father gray with fear over possibly losing Joy shook Daryl. Life was unpredictable and the time you had with the one you loved wasn’t to be squandered. Tonight’s dinner made him even more determined to convince Cassidy to remain in Carbondale, to give her enough good reasons to never leave him again.
“Forever and ever.”
“AUNT SUZANNA?” DARYL shaded his eyes against the midmorning glare and peered at his great-great-aunt’s white-sided cottage. It’d come a long way from the run-down, debris-filled house he and his brothers helped her organize a while back. In fact, it looked a tad too neat, he mused, as he assessed the meticulously raked lawn despite a copse of leafless oak trees. Was Neil helping her with yard work—a duty usually shared by the Loveland siblings? A rough wind rattled the tree bows and chilled the tips of his ears as he pulled his hat lower. A dog’s low bark sounded from inside the home.
Neil’s stray?
“Maybe she’s not home.” Cassidy huddled beside him. Wearing a red knit cap and a white parka, she looked pink-cheeked and utterly kissable with her face tipped up to his. Between comforting Emma and Noah last night, and his early-morning barn work, they hadn’t had a real moment to hash out their future. He’d wanted to give her space to make up her mind but chafed at the delay.
A humming engine grew louder and a blue sedan pulled to a stop beside the house. Neil Wharton exited the car. He wore a dressy black wool coat over gray dress slacks and black dress shoes so shiny the sun reflected off them.
“Howdy.” Smiling, he sauntered their way. “Did you come here to see me or Aunt Suzanna?”
Daryl ignored his outstretched hand and scowled. “Why would I come here to see you?”
“As I’m staying here, I thought, perhaps, you’d come to make amends,” Neil said smoothly. “Family shouldn’t be fighting.”
“You’re not family,” Daryl ground out. “Whatever you’ve conned my aunt into thinking.”
Neil’s smile faltered. “She’s the one who reached out to me.”
“Now, that’s a flat-out lie!”
Neil scrambled backward at Daryl’s advance.
“Boys!” Aunt Suzanna waved from the front door. “I won’t have you brawling like a pack of jackals. Inside. Now!”
“Forgot how feisty she is,” Cassidy murmured in his ear as they traipsed inside.
“She’s a firecracker.” Daryl held the door and breathed deep as Cassidy passed by him inside, leaving the tantalizing scent of exotic flowers in her wake. Inside, a hairless dog wearing a plastic cone collar wagged its way toward them. Its ribs stuck through its blotchy skin and a bandage wound around one of its back legs. Neil dropped to one knee and the dog bounded into his outstretched arms.
“How are you, Aunt Suzanna?” Daryl kissed her creased cheek.
Her scowl softened slightly. “Still kicking.”
“I can see,” he replied, dryly, then turned to Cassidy. “You remember Cassidy Fulton, Leanne’s sister?”
Aunt Suzanna’s eyes narrowed behind bifocals perched on the tip of her short nose. “Isn’t this the gal you were supposed to marry the first go-round?”
From the corner of his eye, Daryl glimpsed Neil’s shocked expression as he gave the dog a final pat and straightened. What a hypocrite. He’d come to Carbondale with false accusations and he had the audacity to look offended. Daryl shoved his clenched hands in his pockets. “We were never engaged, but yes, Cassidy and I dated.”
Cassidy stuck out her hand. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Aunt Suzanna took it, a smile replacing her frown. “Good to see you, honey. Always thought you were a smart little thing. Reminded me of myself. Curious. Ambitious. Hardworking. I liked digging in the past, but you write stories about nowadays.”
“I do.” Cassidy ruffled the curious stray’s ears when he sniffed her legs.
“Don’t ever give that up,” Aunt Suzanna cautioned, much to Daryl’s chagrin. “It’s good for a woman to be independent. The world needs more like you.”
“Thank you.” The pleasure in Cassidy’s voice set off a warning bell in Daryl’s head. He had nothing against Cassidy working...just not a job that’d expose her to the kind of danger she described in her nightly bedtime stories. The kids ate them up, shivering under their covers as she described her life-or-death encounters.
It would become too real, however, if Cassidy resumed her hazardous career. She’d break their hearts by coming in and out of their lives irregularly, her life in constant jeopardy. They’d already suffered enough upheaval. Cassidy had found a local story to investigate. There had to be more in the area to keep her fulfilled professionally...
“Heard you lost some of your memory.” Aunt Suzanna waved them to a floral-patterned sofa before heading to the kitchen. “What can I get you two?”
“I’ve regained a bit.” Cassidy unzipped her jacket, shrugged it off and sat. He followed suit and glowered at Neil, who stretched his frame into an armchair, crossing his legs and folding his hands, totally at ease...as if he belonged here. The dog flopped across his feet with a contented sigh. “And I’ll have sweet tea if you’ve got it.”
“Daryl?” Aunt Suzanna called.
“Same.”
In the tense quiet, a grandfather clock chimed eleven o’clock and he held back a yawn. Before dawn, Cassidy had woken him when snippets of memory returned to her. His mind drifted back to her gentle hand shaking him from sleep.
“She begged me to return to Carbondale to take care of Emma and Noah,” Cassidy whispered, her hair mussed, her eyes wild. “I remember it! She’d wanted to escape for a little while and think about her future with you.”
His mind sharpened and he sat up, understanding now how Leanne persuaded Cassidy to come home, her concern for her niece and nephew a powerful motivator.
Cassidy’s eyes searched his, her disquiet clear, as she relayed her phone call with Leanne. But hearing his wife’s intentions hurt less than he’d imagined. She’d been ready to move on and so was he, with the woman who’d cared enough about his family to drop everything and come home to safeguard it.
Aunt Suzanna returned with refreshments, pulling him back to the present.
“You got your clock fixed.” Daryl accepted her offered glass.
She passed another cup to Cassidy, then hustled back to the kitchen. “Neil helped me.”
“W-what?” Daryl sputtered on his first sip and set his tea down on a coffee table.
“My grandfather was a watchmaker in Kaiserslautern.” The dog’s tail thumped at his new master’s voice.
“He’s been handy to have around,” Aunt Suzanna crowed as she returned, another glass of tea in hand for Neil. “And he speaks English so well.”
“Thank you, Aunt Suzanna.” Neil stood and waved a hand at the chair. “Please sit. I don’t mind standing.”
“You’re a dear.” She patted his cheek and sank into the tufted cushioned seat. The dog scrambled up onto gangly legs. It trailed Neil across the room to the front window.
“So how did you meet Neil?” Cassidy asked after another gulp of tea.
“I found him is what I did,” Aunt Suzanna announced. The lines around her eyes crinkled, deep with pleasure. “After I got the place organized, I began going through the boxes of family memorabilia I’d saved and came across Clarence’s war correspondence.”
“How come Pa didn’t have it?” Daryl watched Neil as he stared outside, his jaw and nose similar to Pa’s...
“Your father thought it best to store family items here to safeguard them from...” She stopped and cleared her throat. Daryl knew she thought of his erratic adoptive mother. During her bouts of anger, she’d destroyed many items in the house.
“And you found something that piqued your interest,” Cassidy interjected, smoothing over the awkward moment.
Aunt Suzanna shot her a relieved smile. “Yes. He’d written home about a girl he’d met in Germany. Seemed quite taken with her. He asked if we still had his grandmother, my sister’s, engagement ring. I knew it must have been serious, but we never heard more of her and I got to wondering why.”
“I would have been curious, too.”
Daryl shot Cassidy a surprised glance. Whose side are you on? he silently communicated. She wasn’t seriously going along with this farce.
She arched a brow, her expression as neutral as Switzerland. “Do you have the letters?”
Aunt Suzanna shook her head. “Turned them over to Neil’s attorney. When he’s finished with them, he’ll hand everything off to Boyd’s lawyer.”
“Would have been kind of you to let Pa in on everything first,” Daryl said as mildly as possible considering he seethed inside.
Aunt Suzanna gazed at him over the top of her bifocals. “Boyd wouldn’t have believed any of it, let alone agreed to find out more.”
“Did you search for the girl Clarence mentioned?” Cassidy asked, cutting the tension thickening the air between him and his aunt.
Aunt Suzanna nodded, eyes aglow. “Found her and her son, who was born eight months after Clarence returned to the States. Neil and I spoke on the phone. When he described the watch Clarence had sent him, along with correspondence his mother had, I offered to put him up, so he could meet his kin. Neil here doesn’t have one bit of family over there in Germany. Now, that’s a darn shame.”
“The shame is him going after our ranch.” Daryl shot to his feet and paced to Neil.
“It’s my inheritance,” Neil said calmly.
“Then how come you never contacted our family before?”
“I didn’t know if I’d be welcome until Aunt Suzanna reached out.”
Daryl stared Neil dead in the eye. “You’re not welcome.”
Neil reached down to stroke his dog’s head. “That might change. I’m hoping so.”
“Not as long as you’re demanding we dig up our family.”
Neil’s mouth tugged down in the corners. “A completely unnecessary step if Boyd would consent to a DNA test to establish our connection.”
Daryl glowered at him. It was a reasonable request, but he’d never go against his pa by siding with Neil on this point. “Either way,” he forged ahead, “we can’t just give you half the ranch. We’re struggling as it is.”
“I’m not trying to burden anyone,” Neil insisted. “I only want what’s fair.”
“What’s fair is you getting on the next plane and leaving America, buddy.”
Cassidy wedged herself between them and gently pressed on Daryl’s chest until he stepped back. “Let’s not lose our heads. Did you bring your birth certificate, Neil?”
He shook his head. “I forgot it in my excitement at Aunt Suzanna’s invitation. I only needed a passport to travel.”
“Is Clarence listed on the certificate?”
“No.”
Cassidy cocked her head and her green eyes sharpened. “Who’s listed as the father?”
“A friend of my mother’s who wanted to help her out and avoid me being tainted with illegitimacy.”
“And that was?”
Neil shifted his weight. “Frank Sterholdt. He died over twenty years ago.”
“What a shame,” Cassidy murmured. “Did he and your mother marry?”
Neil pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his glistening forehead. The dog woofed, as if sensing Neil’s unease. “Frank was already married.”
“Yet he consented to having his name on the certificate...” Cassidy tapped her chin.
“He was a very good friend.” Neil’s voice rose, defensive. Adrenaline zipped in Daryl’s veins. Cassidy was onto something, her journalistic instincts zeroing in on a topic Neil didn’t want to discuss...possibly his real father. He’d share Frank’s name with Maverick’s private investigator. It might be the answer they needed to avoid the trial altogether.
“Indeed...” Cassidy’s phone vibrated in her pocket. When she pulled it out, she glanced at the screen and stood. “I’m afraid I have to take this. Thank you for the refreshment, Aunt Suzanna, and it was a pleasure getting to know you, Neil.”
She shot a warning look at Daryl, as if cautioning him to behave, donned her jacket and headed outside.
“Don’t you think he has the Loveland blue eyes?” Aunt Suzanna smiled affectionately at Neil.
“No,” Daryl said curtly and shoved his arms through his jacket sleeves.
“I suppose you don’t have them either.” Neil tucked his handkerchief away, composed once more. “But I believe you aren’t genetically related, yes?”
Daryl strove to keep the fury from his face at the reminder of his adoptive status. “I’m still more Loveland than you.” He softened his tone when he turned to face his relative. “Will you be standing with us or with Neil at the trial?”
“I’ll be on the side of truth,” she tutted, rising. “If Neil is a Loveland, we need to know and welcome him with open arms. It’s our family’s way, as you should understand better than anyone.”
She lifted her cheek, and he grazed it with an obliging kiss. “I’ll let Pa know. Take care now and call us if you need anything. Hear?” He donned his hat, scowled at Neil, then tipped its brim at his aunt before exiting.
Outside, he took several deep, bracing breaths of crisp air, processing his relative’s admonishment. He’d been accepted into the Loveland fold, no questions asked. Was he being too hard on Neil? He knew what it felt like to be alone in the world without a family. Then again, family didn’t—or shouldn’t—turn on each other like Neil.
“Will I have mercenaries with me?”
He whipped around at Cassidy’s voice and spied her a short distance away beside his truck, her back to him. His heart picked up speed. Had her editor called with an assignment?
“How soon would you need me in Nuevo León?”
His body clenched at the name. Nuevo León was ground central in Mexico’s violent drug war. Hired guns or not, Cassidy’s life would be in grave danger if she traveled there.
A dark throb of pain rose from his clamped jaw and exploded behind his eyes. His family might lose Loveland ranch if Neil proved his case, but it didn’t compare to losing Cassidy a second time.
He had to convince her to stay.
Tonight.