Page 29 of Dependable Cowboy

Sam had a pristine reputation with the town, and if anything, Whitney had an even better one. Everyone in Rocky Ridge had looked up to the Duncan family name ever since Jim and Maggie had built something from nothing decades ago.

Aaron held Brock’s gaze without so much as blinking. He’d already gone to Tyler a couple days back. If Brock pressed the issue, he’d find out extremely quickly that he had precisely zero legs to stand on. Someone like Keifer didn’t make for a strong ally. He would no doubt fold like a bad hand of cards.

Brock maintained eye contact with Aaron for maybe three seconds longer before twisting on his booted heel and storming off. He gunned his engine in park for long enough to leave a nasty column of black smoke from his engine—talk about a toddler throwing a temper tantrum—then roared out of there so recklessly that he nearly hit a fence post.

Good riddance.

Buoyed by having this unfortunate duty over with, he called Joy.

“Hey, it’s so good to hear your voice,” he said, the moment she answered.

“Awww, you’re sweet. Long day?”

“The longest.” But just as he made his reply, he could hear her doorbell on the other end of the line.

“Hang on just a sec.” Aaron didn’t think anything of Joy going to the door until he heard her gasp. “Wayne…” Wait,Wayne? As in her former husband Wayne? “Y-you’re… Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Joy?” Aaron spoke her name. She’d told him about this guy and how he’d been a drug addict. The last person he wanted around Joy—and Kara—was someone like that. “Joy? Are you all right?”

And that was when the line went dead.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It was like seeing a ghost.An impossible apparition. As Joy stood there gaping at the man she hadn’t made visual contact with in literal years now, she wondered if she might be hallucinating. Because this man couldn’t be here. Not after all this time. Not after everything that had happened.

Joy hadn’t known how she would feel should this moment ever come, but now that it was here, what she experienced was pure horrified shock. Because somehow, this man who’d been absent for so long had shown up unannounced at her door.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” were the first words out of his mouth. Then, he offered her one of his slick smiles. “What? Aren’t you gonna give your man a hug?”

She didn’t, though. She merely stood there feeling numb. Paralyzed, almost. How could he be here? How? And…

“Where have you been?” she finally managed, her throat seeming to take forever to work correctly. “It’s been right at twoyearsnow, Wayne. Where have you been?”

But Wayne waved away her question as if it were nothing. Inconsequential.

“Oh, baby, don’t fret your pretty head about all that. You’ve gotta come back with me. Back to Hollywood. Exciting things are going on, and I want you to be a part of them. And Kara. Where’s my darling little angel girl?”

And as if staged, that’s when Kara appeared from the bedroom where she’d been drawing, her small face hopeful as she stared at the man in the doorway. Her biological father.

“Daddy? Is that you?”

“Of course, it’s me, silly. Come here.”

Kara did, almost as if in a trance. He gathered her into his arms and spun with her as if he’d only been gone for a week on some fun trip. Not like he’d basically vanished as if he’d never existed. She giggled like any other eight-year-old who was experiencing her father’s unexpected return and attention.

Joy couldn’t blame her. How often had she hoped for this? Prayed for it? Yet to have it transpire at this point…

“I’m all set up now,” he went on. “It’s all done. That soap opera job I kept trying for? I got it. I finally got it, Joy.”

But Joy’s thoughts were spinning out of control. Only as an afterthought did she remember the phone in her hand and that Aaron had been on the other side of that connection. She glanced at the screen to see that it was blank, the call ended. She must’ve bumped the disconnect button or something. Or maybe in her stunned state, she’d accidentally hung up on him.

She’d call him back.

“Futile Passionshad to ultimately recognize my talent and sign me on. It was just a matter of time. And that time is now, baby. Woohoo!” Wayne whooped in delight to Joy even while still swinging their daughter around the limited confines of the above-a-garage apartment.

Joy merely stood there staring at the spectacle in disbelief. It took her a minute to even register that she was shaking her head at him.

“No.” The word left her at a whisper, and Wayne didn’t even seem to notice, so she increased her volume. “I said no.”

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