Cowgirls Don't Cry(22)

“No, I was gonna say like a mini-version of Brandt.”


Tell strode over and crouched in front of Landon. “Hey, buddy. You don’t gotta be scared.”


Landon blinked those McKay blue eyes at Tell and shrank against Brandt’s leg.

Brandt rubbed his hand over Landon’s head. “This is Landon. He’s Luke’s son.”


“For sure?” Tell asked.

“Yeah. Did the paternity test and everything.”


Dalton whistled. “I’ll be damned.”


“How long have you known about him?” This from Tell.

“A month.”


Both sets of his brothers’ eyes zoomed to him.

“Look. Samantha, Landon’s mother, contacted me. Fed me this story about her and Luke…which turned out to be completely true. But I didn’t believe her, not at first, which is why I insisted on a paternity test before I told you guys.”


“Jesus. You’ve worked with us every goddamn day for a freakin’ month and you couldn’t let us know this was goin’ on?”


Brandt held Dalton’s angry gaze. “No. First of all, it’s been a rough month anyway, with Dad bein’ a first class jackass about how bad we—I—f*cked up by lettin’ the north pasture stay fallow this year. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up about Landon in case it was bullshit. Second, because Samantha asked me not to.”


“I don’t think she gets a say in nothin’ since she’s kept Luke’s kid a secret from us,” Dalton shot back.

“Chill out, Dalton,” Tell said. He pinned Brandt with a hard look. “Start from the beginning.”


By the time he’d finished, Dalton had plopped in the easy chair and Tell had coaxed Landon into sitting on the floor with him.

“Well, Mom and Dad are gonna shit bricks.”


“Ya think? That’s why I need you guys to go over there with me when we break the news about their first grandchild.”


“Oh hell no. I ain’t gonna pretend I knew anything about this. You know how dad is, Brandt.”


“Which is exactly my point. We’ve gotta show him we’re united on this, on doin’ what’s best for Landon.”


“Given the fact Luke is dead, if this Samantha chick is goin’ to jail, then Dad will wanna sue for permanent guardianship,” Tell pointed out.

“I won’t allow that to happen. Before you argue that turnin’ Landon over to Mom and Dad is the best option, I’ll remind you this is a temporary situation. And if we show Samantha we want Landon to be part of our lives, without the threat of takin’ him away from her, the better it’ll be for everybody in the long run.” Brandt glanced down at Landon, surprised the rambunctious kid was sitting still.

“You so sure Samantha will want her kid back when she gets outta jail?”


No. Brandt wasn’t surprised his brothers had voiced the same question Jessie had. “I’ve got no choice but to believe it.”


Dalton and Tell traded a skeptical look before Tell spoke. “Fine. We’re with you on this. But how in the hell do you plan to baby-sit this kid for the next four months? We’ve got a ranch to run. I’ll remind you the workload has increased since Luke died and Dad ain’t doin’ diddly anymore.”


“It’d be really shitty if you expect Mom to watch Landon all the time and then in four months just snatch him away from her like he didn’t exist,” Dalton added.