Forever Family (River's End Ranch Book 26) Read online

  Tucking it back into her pocket, she walked the rest of the way to the cabin she was sharing with Wilber. When she walked in, she saw four different vases around the room, each filled with wildflowers, and a smile tilted her lips. Her husband was courting her, and she liked it. More than she probably should.

  She walked to the couch and sat down, removing the letter from her pocket again. She knew she should read it. She’d refused every letter for forty-three years. It was time she read something he sent her.

  She slid her finger under the flap of the envelope and took out the single sheet of paper. She didn’t want to read it, and she almost put it back in unread, but it was time.

  Dear Roberta,

  I have written you more times than I can count over the years, hoping you will forgive me. Your mother is the only woman I have ever loved, and what I did was inexcusable. I had been drinking, but that’s no reason for my behavior. I miss you every day, and I hope you’ll agree to see me when I get out of prison at the end of the month. It would mean the world to me.

  I know you have six children, because I keep up with your life as best I can using the prison library. I would like to meet my grandchildren. Please let me be a part of your life.

  Your father.

  Bobbi shuddered, stuffing the letter back into the envelope. Of course she wasn’t going to let a murderer be around her children. She’d done everything she could to protect them over the years, and she wasn’t going to invite him into her home.

  She sat staring into space, thinking about the prison break all those years ago. It hadn’t taken long for the police to find her and interview her. She had used her social security number when she’d started working for the ranch, after all.

  The previous sheriff had been nothing like her son-in-law, Shane Clapper. He’d been an older man with a beer belly who’d looked at her as if she was guilty when he’d walked into the diner to talk to her.

  “Are you Bobbi Jackson? Daughter of Reginald Jackson?”

  Bobbi nodded. “I am. Could we talk about this in private please?”

  She knew they were there about her father escaping, and she knew she was innocent of any wrongdoing. So why was she shaking so badly?

  The sheriff, Steve Jameson, had led her outside to stand beside the café. She knew the customers and other employees were watching her, but she was powerless to do anything about it. “How can I help you, sheriff?”

  “Are you aware that your father has escaped from a maximum-security prison in Oklahoma?”

  Bobbi shook her head. “I haven’t seen or spoken to my father since before his trial. I was taken from him as soon as it was determined that he’d murdered my mother.”

  “Are you saying your father has never written to you? In ten years?”

  She took a deep breath. “He’s written to me repeatedly. I have returned the letters unopened. Why would I want to talk to the man who murdered my mother?” Why could people not understand why she wouldn’t have anything to do with the man?

  “So he hasn’t come to see you since his escape?”

  She shook her head. “No, sir, he hasn’t. As far as I know, he thinks I’m still in Oklahoma. I came here to lose the stigma of being the girl whose father was a murderer. I want nothing to do with him.”

  “Do you have any idea where your father would go?”

  She shook her head. “None.”

  “What did he like to do before his incarceration?”

  “I was eight years old the last time I saw him. I remember he liked to drink, play pool, and he liked to push me on the swing in our backyard.” As she said the words, her heart ached. As long as she could think of him as the man who’d killed her mother, she was fine. When she had to think of him as her daddy, it hurt beyond belief.

  “Do you know which bar he liked to drink at?”

  “No, sir. I have no idea.”

  “Which pool hall he frequented?”

  Bobbi shook her head. “I really don’t remember at all.”

  “Will you get in touch with the sheriff’s department if he contacts you?”

  “Yes, of course I will.”

  The sheriff had shaken her hand and walked away, leaving her standing there with everyone watching out the window of the café. She wanted to pack her things and leave right there and then, but she couldn’t. She had already become attached to Kelsey Weston, and her feelings for Wilber were stronger than she’d imagined possible after a four-day acquaintance.

  So instead of going to the house where she was staying to pack her things, she walked right toward the front door of the café, ignored all the people gaping at her, and walked back to the kitchen to work on the dishes.

  Kelsey had come to the back and put her hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  Bobbi nodded, the tears stinging her eyes. If Kelsey had been accusatory, she would have been able to hold up so much easier, but there was sympathy in the older woman’s voice. “I’m fine. My father escaped from prison, so they’re questioning me. They want me to let them know if he tries to contact me.”

  “Has he?”

  Bobbi shook her head. “No, not since I’ve been here. He sent me letters every week when I was in Oklahoma.”

  “What did he say in them?”

  “No idea. I sent them all back unopened. I had no desire to hear from him.”

  Kelsey studied her for a moment. “I’m here if you need to talk. God never blessed me with a daughter, but I’ve come to think of you as one.”

  Bobbi stared at the older woman with surprise on her face. “In four days? My foster mother had me for eight years, and I was never more than a burden to her.”

  “Yes, in four days. You’re a remarkable young lady. Anyone else would have run, but you came back in here and got right back to work.”

  “I thought about running,” Bobbi whispered.

  “Why didn’t you?” Kelsey asked.

  “Because I feel like I’m part of a family for the first time in ten years. I can’t leave.” Bobbi turned to Kelsey and buried her face in the older woman’s shoulder, the tears soaking Kelsey’s shirt.

  “You are a part of our family now. We want you to stay forever—whether you continue to have a relationship with Wilber or not.”

  Bobbi brushed the tears from her eyes as she looked down at the letter in her hand. How could he want to come back into her life after all this time? It had been forty-five years since she’d seen him. How could he think she’d want anything to do with him?

  Wilber walked into the house to see her crying on the sofa, and she handed him the letter, saying nothing. She didn’t need to. After thirty-five years of marriage, he knew how she felt about her father, though they’d seldom discussed him over the years. It was a subject she didn’t talk about.

  Chapter Five

  Wilber spent the entire day trying to think of ways he could show his wife that she was still the woman he loved beyond words or his wildest imagination. He went into town and found her a necklace that he knew she’d been eyeing, and he’d stopped to get dinner because she’d worked in the café all day. He knew she hated to cook anyway.

  He opened the door to the cabin, expecting to arrive just before Bobbi did, and instead found her sitting on the couch, her head in her hands—sobbing. He set the Chinese take-out on the counter and rushed over to the couch, sitting beside her and gathering her close. “What is it?”

  Bobbi couldn’t speak, so she simply handed him the letter.

  Wilber felt a ball of pain forming in his throat. “What do you want to do?” He remembered the day all those years ago when her father had escaped from prison. It hadn’t been pretty. His mother had sent her home from work early, telling her to take a nap. Then she’d found someone to track him down where he was working with his father.

  He’d been with his father on horseback, scouting out a place for a new ski lift to be put in, when he received a note from his mother.

  As soon as he read the note, he panicke
d. “I need to go talk to Bobbi.”

  His father frowned. “This ranch is your first love. Not some girl who came in on the latest bus and could leave any minute.”

  Wilber’s eyes had met his father’s. “I’ve always known this ranch was my future, but I’ll tell you now that she’s more important to me than this land. She’s been the most important thing in my life since I laid eyes on her. If you can’t understand that, I’m not the man to run this ranch for you.” With that he pulled the reins of his horse to one side and started down the mountain.

  By the time he’d gotten to the house, his heart was in his throat. He rushed through the house, calling her name. When he got to her bedroom door, he knocked, though he wanted to just rush in and hold her. She needed him, and he’d been off working. She came first, and she always would. He had to show her that.

  “Come in.” Her voice was soft, and he could tell she’d been crying.

  He opened the door and walked in. She was lying on her stomach on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. He sat on the bed beside her, his hand stroking her back and her hair, which had come out of the ponytail she wore for work. “Mom sent me a message that you needed me. Are you all right?”

  She sat up, shaking her head. “I think I need to move on. I can’t stay here, suspected by the police. I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  “And that’s exactly why you will stay here. You’ve done nothing, and you need to be with people who know that. People who care about you.”

  She leaned into him, and he let his arms close around her. He didn’t let himself worry about the situation they were in—alone, on her bed—but just tried to take the pain away. “I don’t want your parents to run into trouble,” she finally said, swiping the tears off her face. “They’ve been so kind to me.”

  “Running will do nothing good. I’d have to go with you, and then my parents would have to find another son to run the ranch…”

  She laughed softly. “You can’t go with me. Your whole life is here.”

  He cupped her face in his hands. “I don’t think you understand. My whole life is you.”

  “What if he comes here looking for me?”

  He cocked his head to one side, studying her face. “Are you worried he’ll hurt you?”

  She shook her head adamantly. “No. Not at all. He’s never hurt me in any way.”

  “Then what would it hurt to stay here? Surely you’ve had contact with him over the years.”

  “I haven’t. Not at all. He wrote me every week while I was still in my foster home, but I returned all letters unopened.”

  He frowned. “Why do you think he’s broken out, then?”

  She shrugged. “Why does anyone break out of prison? He doesn’t look good in orange, and it’s not where he wants to be? I’ve heard it’s not exactly a vacation.”

  “You don’t think there’s more to it than that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe he’s worried about you. Is that possible? He doesn’t know where you are, now that you’re not in a foster home anymore. He could be looking for you to make sure you’re all right.”

  “I guess…”

  “Are you sure he killed your mother?”

  She slowly nodded. “I was in my bedroom. Mom was in the living room talking to the pastor. He was a new pastor, and Dad never went to church, so he didn’t know him. When Dad got home, he was drunk, and he went for the pastor’s throat. Mom tried to stop him and he backhanded her, sending her flying into the wall. She fell and hit her head.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “The pastor testified against him, and he confessed. They called it second degree murder.”

  He pursed his lips. “Sounds like it’s more manslaughter, but that’s neither here nor there. Do you have any desire to see him?”

  The tears started flowing again. She had visions of him picking her up and swinging her around. Of him pushing her on the swing and calling her Bobbita. “No. He killed my mother.”

  “All right. What do you want to do?”

  “What do you mean? What can I do?”

  “Do you want to go? Because I can pack what I need and be ready within the hour. Or are you going to stay here and stick it out. Here, where you have a family.”

  She sniffled. “A forever family? That’s what I’ve wanted since the day my mom died. A forever family.”

  “If you want us forever, then you’ll have us. Mom has decided you’re the daughter she always wanted, and it has nothing to do with your relationship with me. She’s keeping you.”

  Bobbi smiled a little, but the tears were still flowing. “I’m going to stay here. If he finds me, he won’t hurt me. I know he won’t.”

  He pulled her close, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. “I’m glad. I didn’t want to leave.”

  “Thank you!”

  Wilber shook his head and realized where he was as he frowned down at the letter in his hands. “How do you want to handle it?” He knew she’d gotten hundreds of letters over the years, but to his knowledge, this was the first one she’d opened.

  She shrugged. “I really have no idea. It’s been forty-five years since I’ve seen him. Thirty-five since I’ve heard his voice. I don’t know what to think or feel. It’s like I’m the confused little girl who lost her mother all over again.”

  “But you’re not. You’re a successful woman who has raised six pretty darned awesome kids—seven including Jess. You’re strong and confident. He can’t take that away from you.”

  She sniffled again. “I’m just so torn. Am I being unforgiving? He is my father. How am I supposed to forgive him, though? Our kids never knew their grandmother. Well, they knew their Grandma Kelsey, who was pretty awesome, but not my mom. He’s also in his seventies. He’s alone in the world with no one. And I won’t speak to him? His own flesh and blood?”

  “Maybe we should ask the kids if they want to meet him. Are we going to the family dinner on Sunday? That would be a good place to bring it up.”

  She sighed. “They all know. But it’s one thing to know your grandfather killed your grandmother and another to come face to face with said grandfather. I just don’t know the right thing to do. And Kelsi has those two precious babies. Can I let him be around them?”

  Wilber shrugged. “If you meet him with our boys around, there would be no danger. We have four strong sons. Two strong sons-in-law. Jake would be there. Nothing would happen to you or those babies. Nothing.”

  She tilted her head to the side and thought about it for a moment. “That’s true. And we can ask Shane to bring his gun and his deputies if we’re that worried about it.”

  “You could invite him to come to our thirty-fifth anniversary celebration and vow renewal.”

  She frowned at him. “You know that hasn’t been decided yet!”

  “It’s about to be. Wait ‘til you see what I brought you!” He kissed her forehead. “Close your eyes.”

  Bobbi laughed, even as she obeyed. Her husband had spent more than half of her life bringing her surprises. How could she stay mad at him?

  A moment later, he picked up her hand and put something warm in it. She looked down and laughed. “Chinese takeout. How did you know I wasn’t going to be up to cooking tonight?”

  “I know my wife!” He took the necklace box and laid it on the couch beside her. “You don’t get the surprise until you eat all your supper.”

  She grinned, remembering what he’d said to her at their first picnic. “All we need is Don Juan here to make things perfect.”

  “I haven’t thought about Don Juan in forever. What made you think of him?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my first days on the ranch lately. I miss your mom and Don Juan the most.”

  He nodded. “I miss them both too. Kelsi seems to be just like her other than the eyes.”

  “Yeah, she does.”

  As they ate, Bobbi kept looking at the letter, which was lying on the coffee table. “I’m not sure I should have read that
letter.”

  “I think you’re wrong. You did the right thing.”

  She bit her lip. “Maybe. I do think I’m going to talk to the kids about it on Sunday. I think they should have a say in what we decide.”

  “Promise me the final decision will still be yours.”

  “It will be. They don’t know him, and I do.” She frowned. “Well, I did.”

  The following morning, Bobbi decided she needed to make another trip over to see Jaclyn. Maybe she could talk out what had happened with the older woman and let her give an opinion. She already knew, so why not?

  As she walked, she thought about her first visit to the little house at the edge of the RV camp. She’d been given Wednesday off, because Kelsey thought she needed time to think about what was going on with her father.

  First thing that morning, a letter had been hand-delivered to her as she ate breakfast.

  Dear Miss Jackson,

  I would like to request the honor of your presence for tea and snickerdoodles this afternoon. The fairies would like to get a closer look at you. Please arrive at two. Thank you.

  Jaclyn Hardy

  She was nervous about seeing the crazy woman, but Kelsey assured her she’d be fine. Even Wilber had told her that she’d been an honorary aunt to him his entire life. She refused to be frightened.

  As she wandered through the gate and into the yard with the bunnies hopping everywhere, Jaclyn stepped onto her porch, her hand over her eyes. “It’s about time! The fairies are getting antsy!”

  “Do you always talk to fairies, Miss Hardy?”

  “Oh, call me Jaclyn. Miss Hardy makes me seem like an old woman sitting on a porch and knitting shawls for my bunnies. And no, I don’t always talk to fairies. In fact, they just started talking to me a few days before you arrived. They told me you were coming, and that you’d be in need of my help. So? How can I help you?”

  “I…don’t know. I came only because of your invitation.”

  “Well, then it sounds like the fairies need to be more forthcoming!”