Jenna was a strong woman. She'd already made choices that had run contrary to her family's wishes, and she was still dealing with the fallout. He had to give her time and resist the temptation to set her straight. It was his worst sin. Just because he thought he was right about everything didn't mean that he was. Who would've thought he'd slip up and have a ten-year-old daughter? Not the old BB. He would've been quick to condemn anyone in that situation. The new one was learning to allow for some gray areas in between those blacks and whites.
He got out of the truck and stretched out the kinks in his spine. Chase's F-450 sat between January's and Roy's trucks, dwarfing them. And Ry was apparently still here, which was an unexpected bonus. Maybe tonight would be a good time to talk about the future. Ry seemed interested in what they were doing and had simply fit right back in, taking on his share of the chores without a word.
Blue opened the screen door and called out, "Honey, I'm home!"
The heavenly scent of Ruth's beef stew tantalized his nostrils. The whole family-including Roy, Maria, and Billy-sat around the kitchen table smiling a welcome at him. It was just like one of the dreams he'd had while overseas, far away from those he loved and in a constant state of alertness.
He threw his arms wide. "I'm free!"
"Awesome." Chase grinned at him. "And about time, too."
"Come and sit down. I'll get you a plate." Ruth got another plate down from the cupboard and passed it across to him. "We only just said grace. You always did have a good nose on you."
Blue dug in, and for a while there was no conversation. Working outside meant they needed a lot of calories to keep going. Eventually Maria was yawning, and Blue handed her his napkin to wipe the peach juice off her chin.
"Time for bed, young lady," Ruth said. "BB, will you take her up and make sure she's settled?"
"Sure." Blue smiled down at Maria. "Come on, then. Race you."
She was off like a whippet and Blue followed a lot more slowly, considering the load of food he'd eaten. When she was all set and tucked up in bed, Blue sat on the quilt beside her.
"You okay?"
"Yes. Billy took me swimming in the hot springs today. It was awesome. You should come next time."
"I will. How are the kittens?"
"They are getting bigger every day. Roy thinks they'll be good rat catchers 'cause their mama is."
"Awesome. I'm done with the military now, so I'll be here full-time. Maybe we can do more stuff together?"
"I'd like that." Her smile faded. "Although I suppose I'll have to go somewhere else soon."
He tensed. "Why would you think that?"
She scrunched the sheet in her fingers and wouldn't look at him. "I heard Ruth talking on the phone. They want to take me into the foster care system or something. Do you think we could do that DNA thing now?"
"If that's what you want."
"I'd like to try. Billy says whatever happens, I'll still have a place here."
"Billy's right." He held her gaze. "I have the DNA kits. Do you want to do it right now?"
She raised her chin. "Yes."
"Then give me a minute to fetch them."
He returned with the kits, his heart thumping hard. "It's not difficult to do or anything. We just gently swab the inside of our cheeks to collect our buccal cells and send the swabs off to the lab to be analyzed."
She was far calmer than he was as they did the tests and sealed the results up in the bag Chase had given him.
"How long will it take?" Maria asked.
"About a week."
"That's good." She nodded and patted his knee. "It's okay."
Blue kissed the top of her head. "Then we're good. You get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning, okay? We'll go for a ride or something."
"Night, then."
"Night, Maria."
It was only when he was on his way downstairs that it occurred to him that she never called him anything. Everyone had a name but him. Either she didn't like the name Blue, or she was afraid to slip up and call him Dad. He kind of understood that. He tended to avoid calling Billy Dad as well.
Walking through into the kitchen, he held up the bag to Chase.
"We did the tests. Maria wanted to."
Chase picked up his cell. "Then I'll contact the company and arrange for pickup."
Blue sat at the table. "I think they can go in the regular mail."
"No, let's make sure they get there in the best condition possible." Chase glanced back at his cell. "Someone will be here to pick them up in the morning."
"Fast work, bro," Ry commented.
Blue grinned at him. "Our oldest brother is a very well-connected man."
"So Maria might be your kid, BB?"
"Yeah. I only found out she existed a few weeks ago. We've been keeping her here while we try to work out what's going on."
"Did the mother finally contact you?"
"Nope. And before you start expressing your opinion about that, you should also know she died about six months ago. It was the guy Maria thought was her dad who suddenly kicked her out."
"Damn," Ry said quietly. "Poor Maria."
Blue let his gaze roam around the assembled faces. "I'd like to put something on the table. Even if Maria isn't officially my daughter, if she agrees, I think we should try and keep her with us."
Billy was the first to nod. "I'd certainly like that. She's a good kid."
Blue turned to his father. "And you've been awesome with her. I might not have said that to you before, but I certainly should have."
"She's easy to love."
"Yeah, but you really put yourself out there for her and . . ." Blue braced himself. "I didn't really expect you to do that seeing as I've been nothing but a complete ass to you since you came back here."
"You're still my son, BB, and it was a way to help out without getting in your face, you know?"
"Well, thanks." Blue reached over and covered Billy's hand with his own. "I appreciate it, Dad."
For a moment there was silence and then Billy squeezed Blue's fingers. "Thanks, son."
Ry cleared his throat. "Damn, I think I'm going to cry."
Blue glared at him and then turned to his older brother. "What do you and January feel about Maria staying on regardless?"
"Fine by me," Chase said and January nodded. "The person you need to run it by is Ruth. It's her ranch."
Blue turned to his grandma, who had been listening quietly. "Ruth?"
"I'd love her to stay. I don't know quite how we're going to manage it if she isn't your daughter, BB, but I'm sure we'll find a way."
"Chase will." January poked her fiancé in the ribs. "He's good at getting things done and he has the best lawyers."
"Then that's settled. I'll have to talk to Daniel Lester again, but I'll wait until we hear back about the DNA." Blue straightened in his seat. "Now what else do we need to talk about?"
"Well, there is the matter of what Ry's planning on doing with his life." Chase directed his gaze at their younger brother. "Are you set on returning to the rodeo?"
"I think I'm done. I'm getting too old."
"Thank God for that," Blue muttered. "So come back here and work with us. Roy could do with a good second-in-command."
"I could." Roy settled his hands over his round stomach and rocked back in his chair. "And Ry is easy to work with. He keeps his mouth shut. I appreciate that."
"Then if you want to come back, there's a place for you here, and a regular paycheck," Chase said. "And the offer applies to HW as well."
"I'll ask him." Ry looked from Chase to Blue. "Can't guarantee what he'll say, mind."
"That's okay." Blue looked around the table. "Anything else?"
"Jenna."
He brought his attention back to Ruth. "What about her?"
"I'm worried she won't take the job Chase offered her."
"Why not?" Blue sat up straight. "Hell, this isn't about me, is it?"
Ruth sighed. "Not everything is about you, BB. Since Mark Lymond started going around telling everyone she was incompetent, some of the veterinary clients have refused to let her treat their animals."
"What?" Blue just about managed not to curse. "When did that happen?"
"This last week when you were away. Meg told me. Jenna's starting to think she's bringing her uncle's practice down. Which is nonsense, of course, but-"
"Jenna would think that," Blue said slowly. "She always feels like an outsider."
January blinked at him. "You get that, too? Like she's always worried that she hasn't really been invited to the party?"
Blue nodded.
Just like Maria, as well. No wonder Jenna got along so well with her.
"Jenna's thinking that with Faith coming back next year, she should leave before they lose any more clients."
"Leave?" Blue almost shouted. "She's not leaving. She's going to take the job here!"