LITMIR.BIZ

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of his other brothers were working on the ranch. His mom’s truck was at the house and he quickly drove there. He had to tell her, even though he’d rather take a beating than see the look of disappointment on her face.

      She was in the kitchen fixing supper and he would always remember the smell of chicken-fried steak wafting to him as he talked and told her where he’d been and what he’d done.

      Her response was unusual. “Have you been drinking, Jude? If this was Phoenix, I would know it was a joke. But you...”

      He was known for his quietness and his responsible behavior, so it was a shock to his mom.

      “No, Mom. I need your help. I can’t let them keep my child.”

      She removed her apron and slammed it onto the counter. “I’ll get my purse.” And then they were on their way back to Austin. His mom called her brother, Gabe, who was interning in a law firm, and he met them there.

      They asked to speak with the administrator of the hospital and he told them that the adoptive parents were already with the baby. He suggested that Jude think about his decision a little more. His child would have a mother and a father, something he couldn’t give it.

      Jude stood on shaky legs and looked the man square in the eye. “I want my kid.” This time he said it out loud.

      It was a private adoption, so the administrator called the attorney handling the case. Once he arrived, Gabe asked to see the contract Jude had signed. It clearly stated that the parents, Jude Rebel and Paige Wheeler, had ten days to change their minds. The man then said they would need Paige’s consent. Gabe pointed out the contract didn’t say that, and he warned that if the baby wasn’t brought to them soon, he would call the authorities.

      The attorney and Gabe continued to argue about Jude’s rights. Jude was sick to his stomach and had to go to the bathroom to throw up. His nerves were about to get the best of him. As he came out of the bathroom, he saw Mrs. Nancy Carstairs, the counselor who had advised Paige, standing at the end of the hall. That threw him. He didn’t understand what she was doing at the hospital.

      He went back to Gabe and mentioned it to him. Gabe flipped through some papers he’d gotten from the adoption attorney and gave him the answer: Tom and Nancy Carstairs were the adoptive parents.

      Rage filled Jude. Mrs. Carstairs had given Paige advice that would make it easier to adopt their baby. She’d continued to feed her bad information to make sure Paige gave away their child. He stomped down the hall to Mrs. Carstairs and he lost his cool for the first time in his life. Gabe had to pull him away and his mom had to calm him down. He wanted to strangle the woman for what she’d done to their lives.

      Gabe told the attorney and the administrator if the baby wasn’t brought to them immediately, he would file charges against Nancy Carstairs for coercing Paige Wheeler into giving away her child. And he would notify the school board in Horseshoe of her deceit. And he would also bring charges against the hospital.

      The Carstairs caved and walked out of the facility. The nurse in charge of the newborns said she would bring the baby, but not until Jude had a proper car seat and items to care for his child.

      His mother went shopping while he and Gabe waited. It was the longest wait of his life. His mother had come back by the time the doors opened and the nurse came out carrying a baby wrapped in a blue blanket. He had a son. His breath caught and it took a moment before he could breathe again. He had a son.

      The days that followed weren’t easy. He learned to change diapers, prepare bottles and wake at the smallest of cries. He followed his brother Falcon’s example and raised his kid—because that was what fathers did. And no one was ever going to take his child again. Because he’d said so.

      “Dad.” Zane ran through the bathroom they shared into Jude’s room. “The entry form for the race is supposed to be in today’s paper. If Uncle Falcon doesn’t bring it in, can I take your truck and go get it at the mailbox?”

      His son loved horses and he was planning to enter the Horseshoe Founder’s Day Horse Race at the end of April. That was all that was on his mind.

      Jude got to his feet and stuffed his shirt into his jeans. “I’ll get it.” He looked at his son standing there in nothing but his boxer shorts. His dark hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it aside, as he often did. All arms and legs, he was going to be a gangly teenager just like Jude. His dark eyes and facial features were all Jude, too. But his sweet nature, which endeared him to everyone, he got from his mother. “Get dressed. It’s time for breakfast.”

      “Okay, Dad.” Zane dashed toward the bathroom. “Don’t forget about the form.”

      As if Jude could forget. Zane had talked about the race nonstop since before Christmas and he’d been practicing with his paint horse, Running Bear, almost every day. Jude felt sure there wasn’t a horse in the county that could beat him.

      He made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, where his mom was cooking breakfast. The smell of bacon frying whet his appetite. He didn’t know how he would’ve raised Zane if it hadn’t been for his mom. She didn’t criticize or judge him. She just pitched in and helped him and showed him how to be a father. The only drawback was he was thirty-one years old and still living with his mother. That, he could handle. Not having his son with him was something he couldn’t.

      “Mornin’, Mom,” he said, snatching a piece of bacon before pouring a cup of coffee.

      She turned from the stove. “Mornin’, son. Is Zane up?”

      “Yes, and I didn’t even have to wake him. He’s so excited about this race that it’s all he thinks about, even in his sleep.” He took a couple of sips of coffee and placed his cup on the counter. “I’m going to the mailbox to get the paper so he can have the form to fill out or he’s going to drive us all crazy.”

      Before he could get to the door, Falcon and Quincy, two of his brothers, came in. Quincy had the paper in his hand. He held it up. “I brought something for Zane. Is he up?”

      Jude picked up his cup. “Yes, and he’s ready for that form. He’s saved up the entry fee and he’s counting the days. Actually, he has a calendar in his room and he’s marking them off.”

      “Who wants breakfast?” his mom asked.

      “I had breakfast with Leah,” Falcon replied. “Our children were asleep and it was nice.”

      “How about you, Quincy?”

      “Elias had a late night, so I fixed breakfast for Grandpa.” Quincy filled a cup with coffee and sat at the table.

      “Your grandpa can come over here and eat if he wants breakfast,” their mom snapped in a tone they knew well. “You have a wife and you need to be home with her and not pampering that old man.” His mom and grandfather had a strained relationship that was difficult for the whole family.

      Quincy stretched his shoulders. “Mom, my wife was up at 5:00 a.m. to be at work at six. We had coffee and went our separate ways. But we took time for ourselves, if you know what I mean.”

      “Quincy,” his mother scolded. But Quincy only smiled. It was good to see his brother happy.

      Jude filled his plate with bacon, eggs and biscuits and sat at the table.

      Falcon flipped through the hometown paper, which usually had nothing in it but tidbits of gossip. Nothing ever happened in Horseshoe, Texas. But Falcon slid the paper over to Jude, pointing to a page.

      Jude took a swallow of coffee, pushed his plate away and picked up the paper. The headline hit him between the eyes like a two-by-four.

      Hometown Girl Made Good Returns.

      Jude quickly scanned the rest of the story. Paige’s mother had died and she was coming home for the funeral. Oh, man. He’d never expected this. Darlene Wheeler had fallen and broken her hip not long after Paige had left for California. Her daughter Staci had put her in a rehab center in Austin and from there she’d been moved to a

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