32
Four-legged harem
Rafferty opened the back of Mammy’s Jeep and stared at the deer lying on the blanket. Rosie stared back at him, her doe-eyes — no pun intended — as puzzled as his.
What was I thinking?
He hadn’t, that’s what. He’d acted impulsively, as always, letting his heart rule and not his head.
The deer belonged in a wildlife sanctuary. Not on Lawson’s Landing.
But he was unwilling to hand her off, and so, here they were, him and Rosie.
And the unborn fawn she carried.
Yep, Rosie was pregnant. That’s what had sealed the deal for him.
“The enclosure’s all set,” Mom said, walking over to him.
His parents hadn’t even blinked when he told them of his intention to nurse her back to full health. Rafferty placed an arm around his mother, pulling her to his side. “Thanks for helping with this,” he said, dropping a kiss on her head.
She patted his back. “You’re welcome. It reminds me of when you were younger. You were always finding the injured animals and bringing them home for you and Siobhan to fix. The two of you were quite the healers.”
A vision flashed through his mind. That of a bruised, bleeding man begging for mercy. Some healer he’d been, standing by while the life drained out of Oliveira’s body.
He shook off the memory, leaned into the back of the Jeep, and hauled the animal into his arms, mindful of the stitched wounds, and carried her through the gate of the temporary pen.
It was set in a section of land adjacent to Elsa’s paddock with a sprawling cottonwood in one corner, and a hedge of hackberry and redberry juniper on the left. He had hauled in several water troughs, erected a split pole, three-sided shelter, and littered it with straw and old blankets.
A palace fit for a pregnant deer.
He set Rosie down, keeping a watchful eye as she teetered on unsteady legs, sniffing her new digs.
A whinny drew his attention. Elsa stood at the rail separating the two enclosures. He crossed over. “Now, remember, darlin’, we talked about this. Rosie needs a place to rest and heal, and I expect you to be nice to her. No tantrums? Yeah?”
Elsa merely snorted and pranced away to where Rain and Smokey watched from a distance.
“No tantrums, Elsa,” he called after her.
“Problems in your harem already?” a coolly amused voice asked behind him.
He swung about and looked straight into dancing green eyes. “Harem?”
“Hmm. Quite the collection of females you’ve got going.”
Was she mocking him? He couldn’t tell. “Thanks again for agreeing to the placement of her pen.”
Brandy-Lyn shrugged. “Not my land.” She twisted, watching Rosie stumble about. “Poor thing. Those are nasty wounds.”
“It was touch and go for a while.”
“And she’s pregnant?”
“Several months.”
Rosie reached them and started sniffing Brandy-Lyn’s boots. “Hey, sweet thing,” she murmured, leaning forward to stroke across the deer’s back. “You’re a very lucky girl.” She looked up. “It’s a shame about her ear,” she added as Rosie wobbled away.
The mauled ear had become infected, and the wildlife veterinarian surgeon Siobhan called in had done some tricky work on the inner ear and removed most of the outer cartilage.
“Yeah.” He let out a ragged sigh. “She’s deaf on that side. And her balance is out of whack.”
They watched Rosie sniff the trough, and both exhaled when she drank some water.
“It’s a good thing you’re doing.”
The approval in her voice made him feel seven feet tall and cleared up his lingering doubt. Rosie would live out her days on Lawson’s Landing safe from predators.
He gave Brandy-Lyn a long look. It was the first time he’d seen her since her vacation. She looked tanned and fit. Really, really good.
“You’re looking good, Red.”
“Caribbean sun will do that.” She returned his blatant perusal with one of her own. “How are you?”
“Good.”
“Liar.” She tilted her head, studying him. “I can see the dark shadows in your eyes.”
He looked away with a sigh, but her eyes drew him back — steady, unflinching, impossible to ignore. Somehow, she always dragged the truth right outta him. “I got a call yesterday from the DEA,” he admitted. “They think they’ve located Kamila’s hideout. They’re planning a raid.”
“And they asked you again to join them?”
He nodded. “But … I can’t. I just can’t. The idea …” He shuddered, memories pressing in, cold and alive under his skin.
“Then don’t.”
“Does it make me a coward? Not wanting to go back into that hellhole and finish this?”
Another long look passed between them.
“No. It tells me you’ve changed.” She placed a hand over his heart, her palm warm through the fabric of his Henley. “Right here … there’s no room for the darkness you think still lives in you. Because you’ve felt the light. And now you have something better to live for than revenge.”
Her touch was brief, but it left a searing trail.
His chest rose on a slow, shaky breath, like his lungs were trying to catch up with what her words had just done to him.
A knot in his throat threatened to choke him, not from pain — but from how much he wanted to believe her. “You’ve got a lot of faith in me.”
“I see you.”
This time, those three words sank even deeper, hitting harder. He had to look away, jaw tightening as he tried to steady the sudden rush of emotion.
He wasn’t ready.
Not yet.
He sighed, gaze dropping for a moment before he met her eyes once more, unable to stay away from their quiet pull.
“Red.” He said her name with a mix of exasperation and quiet desperation, her name catching in his throat.
“I know.” Her voice was soft, understanding. She stepped back, giving him space he hadn’t asked for but needed all the same. “You know where I live.”
He didn’t say anything. Just watched her walk away, through the gate, and across the grass toward the stable yard. Her shoulders were steady, her pace calm, but something about the way she left made his chest ache.
How many more times could he send her away before she never returned?
*
The call came in just as Brandy-Lyn was setting the coffee to brew, that brief lull between getting up and waking the kids for school. Richard’s name lit up her phone screen. Staring at it for a moment, thumb hovering over the decline button, curiosity — or maybe habit — won out.
She answered with a neutral, “Hello?”
“Hey.” His voice sounded different. Tired. Not beaten down, exactly — but dulled around the edges. “I, uh … bought a vet clinic in Lubbock.”
Her brows lifted. “Another one?”
“Adding it to the chain. But I’m moving there. Next week.”
“You’re moving to Lubbock ?”
“Yes.”
She leaned against the counter. “Guess you’ll be closer to the kids.”
“That’s the idea,” he said.
She didn’t say anything for a beat, but then curiosity won out. “How does your girlfriend feel about that?”
A pause. “She’s not coming with.”
Brandy stared at the steam curling up from the coffee pot.
She didn’t want to ask. Didn’t want to be pulled into his mess. But they shared kids, and the fallout of his actions inevitably affected her. “Why?”
“She cheated on me.”
That hit her like a slap of cold water. She blinked, stunned.
“With her tennis coach,” he added.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” He exhaled, long and ragged. “Look, Brandy, I … I owe you an apology.”
The first light of dawn crept across the sky, chasing away the dark. It was her favorite time of day. Pity it was spoiled by her ex-husband and his problems.
“You didn’t deserve the way I treated you,” he said. “And I am sorry. Very sorry.”
She heard it. The sincerity. No excuses, no accusations. No passing blame. Just raw regret.
Still, she didn’t rush to comfort him. That wasn’t her job anymore. “Thank you,” she said at last, congratulating herself on her calm, yet firm tone. “And what’s happening with Nolan?” With Richard moving closer meant he was farther from his baby boy.
“Nolan’s with me.”
Shock slammed through her.
“She always said he was ‘too much. ’ ” His voice was bitter now. “Said he took too much energy. Too much attention.”
“Yeah, well,” Brandy murmured, “parenting isn’t exactly easy.”
There was a silence that felt like acknowledgment. “You can say it, Brandy,” he said. “I deserve it. All of it. This is my comeuppance.”
She stared at the floor. “I don’t believe in kicking a dog when it’s down, Rich. I never did.”
His breath hitched. “I’d like to see the kids more. Let Nolan grow up knowing his brother and sisters.”
She softened, just a little. “They bonded with him over the holidays.”
“They did?” His voice cracked a little. “I didn’t realize.”
“I guess you were … preoccupied.”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s one word for it.”
Another quiet hung between them. Not angry. Not tense. Just … sad.
“How are things with you and … him?” Richard asked finally.
Brandy took a breath. “He’s working on some stuff.”
A pause. “So… you’re still hung up on him?”
She didn’t bother dancing around it. “Yes, Richard. I am still hung up on Rafferty Lawson. And it’s got nothing to do with him being a Lawson. He’s a complex, but amazing man. The kind who shows up. The kind who owns his damage and does the work.”
A beat passed.
“So … you wouldn’t be interested in maybe … working things out? Between us, I mean. We once had a spark—”
“Perish the idea, Richard.”
He let out a long sigh, seemingly not surprised. “Figured as much. But it was worth a shot.”
“No, it wasn’t,” she said gently. “But I get why you asked. You’re scared. Alone. Feel betrayed. Need a shoulder to cry on. But that shoulder is not mine.”
More silence.
“Once I’m settled in my new place, I’d like the kids to spend a night. Maybe even a weekend.”
“I think they’d like that.”
“Thanks,” he said. “And again, I am sorry, Brandy. For everything.”
They disconnected, and Brandy poured herself a mug of coffee. The sound of running water drifted from the upstairs bathroom, drawing her gaze toward the ceiling. The girls were awake.
She grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch, wrapped it around her shoulders, and picked up her mug. Then came the sound she was waiting for — the light click of nails on hardwood.
Scout appeared at the top of the stairs, and Brandy smiled as the golden retriever made his careful descent, hopping lightly on three legs. Bonnie nosed her way out of Preston’s bedroom, tail wagging.
During the day, the two rescues were inseparable, moving as one. But at night, they parted ways, each loyal to their chosen person. Scout slept just inside the girls’ room, and Bonnie curled up on the foot of Preston’s bed.
Knowing they were going to be away over the holidays, the dogs had spent a few weeks with a foster family before coming to the ranch.
It took them no time to settle in their forever home.
Brandy opened the front door, and the dogs slipped outside, beelining across the veranda and down to the grass.
Leaning against the wooden pillar, she brought the mug to her lips and took a slow sip. The coffee was hot, rich. Comforting.
Her thoughts drifted to her phone call with Richard.
She felt … ambivalent about Richard’s situation. But her heart ached for little Nolan. Barely a year old and already rejected by his mother.
Pity it was always the kids who paid the price when adults screwed up.
Her own childhood was case in point.
She didn’t think about it often, but sometimes it crept in. Growing up with an alcoholic mother had meant walking a tightrope every day. You never knew which version you were coming home to — weepy, affectionate drunk or the red-eyed, plate-throwing fury.
It had almost been a relief when she arrived home one sunny afternoon to the news that her mother had fallen down the stairs. The coroner had recorded her blood alcohol level at 0.32%.
It was a horrible thing to admit, but her mother’s death had been a kind of peace.
No more guessing. No more dread. No more having to brace herself before turning the key in the lock.
But here she was again.
The wondering.
The uncertainty.
This time, it wasn’t about her mother.
It was about Rafferty.
Everything she’d said to Richard was true. She was still hung up on him.
Not because of the Lawson name. Not because of some leftover college-girl fantasy.
Unlike her mother, Rafferty was doing the work. Facing his demons. Trying — really trying — to be whole.
He was complicated. Messy.
But he was also kind. Gentle in ways most people never saw. Just watching him tend to his four-legged girls was heartwarming. The animals seemed to sense the quiet goodness buried beneath his brittle shell.
And despite the resolution she had made on that tropical island to keep her distance, it was hard.
Hard to stay back.
Hard to guard her heart.
Hard to watch him lavish affection on others (even the four-legged ones) when every part of her craved that same tenderness for herself.