“Ah, hell,” he said in a low, strained voice as he guided his truck into its accustomed spot beside his late parents’ home. The typically easy job was made more difficult due to a couple of extra cars he hadn’t been expecting.
Except that he should have been expecting them. He had known for at least a month that Randy and Carson were coming this week, had probably even known the precise day. In all of the damage control he'd been caught up in around Helena, though, he'd completely forgotten. He hadn't checked to see that everything on the ranch was as it should be, which it likely wasn't, due to all the time he'd been spending on the bed and breakfast instead of looking after the family land. He had a sinking suspicion that he hadn't warned Lacey about their arrival, either, solidifying his belief that everyone inside the McCall house had reason to be pissed at him.
"Better face the music," he muttered, climbing out of the truck and plodding toward the house. Before he was halfway up the stairs, he heard the lock of the front door twisting, and the screen door flew wide.
"Trevor!" Jade cried, shouting his name at the top of her lungs as she flung herself across the porch. She launched herself into his arms without a moment's hesitation, her unflappable faith that he would catch her leaving him with goosebumps. "You're home! There are other people here, too! Lacey's making lemonade!"
“Is she, now?” Trevor asked, kissing Jade on the tip of her nose before setting her down at his side. She reached for his hand, intertwined her fingers with his, and began to swing their clasped hands back and forth.
“Yup! She said it was lucky there was something in the house.”
“Yeah,” Trevor sighed. “I bet she did.”
Trying to ignore a rising feeling of dread, Trevor walked Jade into the living room, where both of his brothers sat making small talk. Between them, Lacey was busy setting out a tray that held a large, sweating pitcher of lemonade and several glasses. When Trevor stepped into the room, all three faces turned in his direction.
“Trevor!” Lacey exclaimed in surprise, blushing as soon as his name left her mouth. “I didn’t know you were going to be back today!”
"Looks like you haven't been keeping any of us abreast of your plans," Randy said. His tone was genial enough, but the spark in his eyes told Trevor that his youngest brother wasn't altogether thrilled.
Trevor felt anger of his own taking root and shook his head as if to clear it. There was no denying that they were all under a lot of pressure, and all of them had made and would continue to make sacrifices in order to fulfill their dead parents' wishes. Carson was home for the rest of the designated year now, having planned all of his rodeoing events for the foreseeable future in the vicinity. Randy didn't have all of his plans wrapped up quite yet, but he was in town for the week before his finals to see how things were holding up. He would return for graduation and then head right back to the ranch, forgoing the normal post-graduation festivities to take on his share of the responsibilities.
They were all making sacrifices. Intellectually, Trevor knew that. At the same time, up until now, he had been the one trying to keep everything afloat, with the ranch, with Jade, and to a certain extent with the bed and breakfast as well. He had been the last line of defense, and he didn't appreciate the disapproval he thought he saw in his brothers' eyes now.
“Is there a problem, boys?” he asked, warming up to the idea of being angry. Carson cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably, and Randy got to his feet. Lacey balanced, looking at each brother in turn with mingled apprehension and exasperation. Randy opened his mouth, undoubtedly to say something that would escalate the situation, but before he could get a word out, Trevor’s phone rang.
“Jeez, saved by the bell,” Carson said, exhaling loudly and looking at Lacey out of the corner of his eye.
“Excuse me,” he said gruffly. “I’ve got to take this.”
He stepped out of the room, grateful for the interruption. That gratitude lasted for roughly the few seconds it took him to get his phone out of his pocket. When he saw who was calling, his heart clenched, and his palms started sweating.
"Mr. Morgan," he said, working hard to keep his voice level and only partially succeeding. Albert Morgan was the private investigator Trevor had hired when Penny had taken off. At the start, Trevor had hoped that his cousin would be found quickly, and everything would return to normal. Now, his desires had entirely changed, and he dreaded hearing what Morgan might have for him. He had half a mind to hang up and change his number, not that it would do any good. The man was an investigator, for Christ's sake.
“Mr. McCall,” Morgan drawled into the phone. “I bet you’ve been wondering when you were going to get some news from me.”
“No, of course not,” Trevor said with a nervous laugh. “You can take all the time in the world.”
“I have been,” Morgan said with a humorless chuckle of his own. “Fortunately for both of us, I’ve found her. Unfortunately, that’s about where the good news ends.”
“Right,” Trevor said, clenching the hand not holding the phone tightly. “Tell me.”
“As I said, I found Penny,” Morgan said, his tone grave. “I’m sorry to tell you that she’s in no state to be a parent. She’s living in a drug den and working the streets. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but her dropping Jade off on your doorstep was the best bit of mothering she could have done.”
“Dear God,” Trevor said, shutting his eyes tightly. As angry as he was at Penny for what she’d done, he still loved his cousin. She was family, one of the good parts of his childhood memories. To hear that she had fallen so low was a hard pill to swallow. Then there was the fact that Mr. Holloway had made it pretty darn clear that his chances at getting custody of Jade were slim.
“I know,” Mr. Morgan said sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I hate to deliver news like this, I really do. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible, though, give you time to start making arrangements. No official in the world would give that woman back her daughter, the way things stand. It’s time to find an alternative.”
“Right,” Trevor said shakily, his hands actually trembling now. “Thank you for letting me know.”
He hung up the phone, and for a moment, he was positive he was going to throw up. Both Holloway’s and Morgan's words rang in his ears. Holloway had made it clear that he could never qualify to be Jade's new father. Now Morgan was driving home the point that Penny was no longer fit to parent her child. As far as Trevor saw it, that left only one option. He had to make himself more desirable, and the best way to do that was marriage. The idea sounded crazy because it was crazy, but it was also the best option left to a drowning man.
He shut his eyes and said a little prayer, then cleared his throat. “Lacey?” he called, surprised by how level his voice was, given what he was about to do. “Hey, would you mind coming in here for a minute?”
“Sure,” she called back, sounding distracted. “Give me one second.”
Trevor listened to the sound of Jade's rapid-fire questions mingling with the low-voiced conversation going on between Randy and Carson. It was, against all odds, the sound of family. As confused and unconventional as it might be, he had a room full of family waiting for him, and he aimed to keep it if he could.