Amber opened the door, jumped down from the truck, then ran pell-mell to throw herself into the welcoming arms of his mother. He opened the back door to lift Miss Emmaline down, in spite of her grumbling protests.
“I can get out of this vehicle without your assistance, I’ll have you know.” She thrust the cat carrier into his hands. “Here, if you want to do something helpful, take Princess Elizabeth. I’ll manage on my own.”
Dwayne took the cat and stepped back to give the stubborn old woman room to maneuver herself out of the truck.
Kathleen approached them. “Emma! I’m so glad to see you. Come in everybody. Leave your things. I’ll have Arturo fetch the bags when he gets in from the barn. We’re just putting dinner on the table.”
Amber knelt on the porch and let Jarhead cover her with sloppy dog kisses, his tail whipping at warp speed. His old dog’s tongue was as big as Marla’s mutt. Looks like the ancient Lab remembers her after all.
Dwayne gave his mother a crushing hug. “Mom, you get more beautiful every year. How do you do it?”
“Working from sunrise to sundown, I imagine. It’s good to see you, son. How are your brothers?”
“They’re great. Dylan and his family are coming up this summer. I saw Donovan this past weekend while he was on leave. He’s presently languishing in the arms of a beautiful woman, so he’s a happy man, but he did say he would get up to see you when he gets his next leave.”
“A woman? Really?” She smiled and cocked her head. “Anyone I know?”
“Do you remember Brad Danaher’s daughter, Charlene? When you left California she was probably only twelve or thirteen.”
“I do remember her and her twin sister, Marla. I always thought Marla would be a stunning woman when she matured.”
Dwayne winked and grinned. “You were right, they’re both beautiful, but Marla is hot, hot, hot!”
“Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“I wish.” He hugged her close.
She patted his shoulders and pushed back. “Let’s get Emma and Amber some dinner first, then you and I need to speak privately before we turn in tonight.” She took his arm. “Come on, Cookie will skin me if she has to wait much longer to see you. She’s been cooking all day, everything you like. Go to the kitchen and spend some time with her, but first, use my house phone to call Cluny. He called a couple of hours ago, said it was important.”
Dwayne and his mom sat bundled in heavy jackets on the porch after eleven that night. The ranch house sprawled dark and quiet around them like a soft blanket. They sipped hot cocoa and stared at the billions of stars above the Bighorn Mountains.
Dwayne tapped the arm of his chair. “Francine showing up in Spring Grove totally blindsided me. Fortunately there were about eight kids at Brad Danaher’s birthday party. She didn’t know which one of the girls was Amber. I hustled her out of there before she made a scene. After getting rid of her, I felt the only option was to get Amber as far away from her as possible.”
“Did Amber know Francine was there?”
“She saw me escort a woman out, but Dad stepped in and distracted her with birthday cake. Later she asked me who it was, and I sidestepped with a vague answer. She seems to have forgotten in the excitement of coming to the ranch.”
“What do you plan to do?”
He sighed and took a moment to answer. “I’m not sure. I’m struggling with whether or not I should allow Francine to see her. Would Amber hate me if she found out years from now that I’d prevented her from meeting the mother she’s got some childhood fantasy about being a mysterious fairy princess?” His stomach knotted with indecision.
Kathleen breathed out through tight lips. “There’s no way to know until the time comes.”
“Francine said something when my brothers and I escorted her off the property and told her to get lost. I can’t get my head around it.”
“What did she say?”
“‘You’re not her father.’”
“Dear God, that disgusting tramp! What a thing to say.” She placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “That’s baloney. You are her father.”
“I’m her dad, and she’s my daughter, but God’s honest truth is, I don’t know whether or not I’m her father. Everybody but me knew Francine was screwing around before I got back here.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I know I should have told you, but you were just home from the war, and you’d spent so many agonizing months in the hospital and rehab, I didn’t have the heart to say anything. I feel certain Francine wasn’t with any other man once you finally got home.”
“Maybe, but it seems too much of a coincidence that she got pregnant so fast after we managed sex the first time. As I recall, she was throwing up the next morning.”
“It happens, Dwayne. For goodness sake, I got pregnant with Dylan the first night I slept with John. There was no mystery about why we got married in such a hurry.”
He cocked his head and grinned. “You never told me that.”
“There was never a need to. It wasn’t your business, and don’t you dare say anything to your brother.”
“Dyl can figure it out if he cares to, Mom.”
Kathleen sighed. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. He weighed almost ten pounds at birth, so it would have been a stretch to claim him premature.” She chuckled. “Oh, the things one does when young and in lust.”
She poked his shoulder. “Speaking of lust, is there something you’d like to tell me about Marla Danaher?”
“Hell yes. I’d like to tell you she’s head over heels crazy for me and we’re ripping up the sheets every night of the week.”
“But?”
He closed his eyes and rested his head on the high back of the
