Page 66 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

TWO DAYS LATER...

“Tiny Tim, stop!”

Rachel laughed as Tex ran on the beach after his dog—theirdog now—happiness filling her to the brim. Maybe she didn’t exactly get a dog of her own, but she was happy to share Tiny Tim with Tex.

He came back leading Tiny Tim on the leash. The dog dug his heels into the sand, clearly not understanding why he couldn’t just run anywhere like he used to. “He’ll learn the commands soon. He will.” Tex had gotten Tiny Tim back from the obedience school the day after the standoff.

Unlike his usual attire, he wore jeans and a cowboy hat today. She wouldn’t call him a proper cowboy yet. But he’d spent more and more time at the ranch, and so had she. Mrs. Lawrence had greeted Rachel with tears in her eyes, for some reason saying Rachel had saved her son’s life yet again—no matter how many times Rachel told her it was the mice. Mrs. Lawrence had also gifted Rachel a cowboy hat and boots, which Rachel wore proudly, be it while playing with the horses or now walking at the beach.

“Yeah, eventually.” She tipped the edge of her cowboy hat to him playfully, then petted Tiny Tim, who jumped and licked her face, nearly knocking the hat back. “I know I’m not a cowgirl yet. But I love being at the ranch.”

“I’m happy to hear it, though I hope you enjoy your lunch today with Irene in Charleston.”

“I will. We’ll also be touring university campuses together.” Rachel’s heart expanded as if trying to take in all the changes in her life as she walked side by side with Tex and Tiny Tim. Well, Tiny Tim was more running in circles around them and nearly tripped Tex with the leash.

One of those changes was more shocking than others. “I still can’t believe Irene turned out to be my biological mother. How did I miss the similarities? I know I took after my dad in appearance. But I talked about her having a cleft chin like her ancestors and me having it as well, and it didn’t click in my mind that we could be related. What kind of investigator am I if I couldn’t see what was right under my nose? Or a chin in this case?”

“An awesome one.” He placed a kiss on her cheek, sending yummy tingles along her skin, then nearly stumbled over Tiny Tim again. “I do wish she told you much sooner or didn’t disappear from your life to start with.”

She untangled the leash. Otherwise, eventually, the three of them would tumble onto the sand. If only she could untangle her past as easily. “I’m still working through all this. It’s a long, complicated story. She said she wanted to have a career, not children. She isn’t lovey-dovey, and she knew that about herself. I was an unplanned pregnancy, and she went back to work almost as soon as I was born. Nannies took care of me when I was a baby. Then I was in daycare and after that school. Then Dad met my stepmother who already had two daughters she doted on and seemed very maternal.

“She was so sweet and treated him oh so well, so he started meeting her in secret while my biological mother worked long hours building up her company. She later learned that my future stepmom assured him her dream was to be a housewife and take care of him and theirthreedaughters. She told him she’d be happy to raise the girl whose selfish mother didn’t seem to want her. He fell in love and thought this would be his close-knit happy family. He blamed my mother for emotionally abandoning him and always working and told her she should leave me with him to be raised right, seeing she lacked maternal instincts.”

Rachel let out a long sigh, trying to imagine that moment through her mother’s eyes. “My mother surrendered parental rights to him, and gave him generous child support so I’d lack nothing. Without saying a word about it all to me since she’d barely been part of my life anyway, she allowed herself to be persuaded it was better for everyone, especially me, for her to disappear out of my life while I was still too young to really remember her.”

Tex clutched her hand in silent sympathy, encouraging her to continue.

“Apparently, she sent me gifts, but I never received them. I remember my stepsisters often getting gifts from an aunt living far away whom we never met. So it looks like my stepmom intercepted those gifts. She sent letters, but I never received them, either. When she wanted to visit me or take me for vacations, my stepmom forbade it and told her I was happy in the new family and not to ruin my life. Irene backed off for a long time and concentrated on her career while sending gifts. Then she started missing me more and more. Meeting her at the café where I started working in high school wasn’t an accident. And there was a reason for all those huge tips. She decided not to give herself away when I didn’t recognize her. I had a slight sense of familiarity, but she’d never really been around, so my memories of her were vague. I assumed what I felt was just relief at finding a kindred spirit at last.”

“Why didn’t she tell you everything when she found out how horrible your life was?” Tex's brow furrowed.

With his compassion warming her, Rachel stared at the ocean sparkling in the generous sunlight. The trauma of being an unwanted child would never go away, but it was never too late to be loved. Tiny Tim jumped, placed his paws on her, and licked her face again. He understood how precious love was after a lifetime of begging for crumbs of attention. She ruffled his ears, wishing humans gave love as unconditionally as dogs. “She wasn’t sure I’d believe her and forgive her. So she tried to help me in whatever ways she could. But then our boss-employee relationship couldn’t be too friendly, so she forced herself to keep her distance.”

“Do you think you’ll ever fully forgive her?” His voice was quiet against the murmur of the ocean.

Her heart shifted, and she hid the sadness in her eyes by hugging Tiny Tim. A part of her rejoiced at the discovery, but a bitter part of her remembered every hurt of her childhood. Could she treat this new development as a gift she didn’t expect?

“I’m trying. And some of this wasn’t her fault but my father’s and stepmom’s.” She breathed in the salty air and took in the sunshine in several senses. “I got my dream. I’ve got a parent of my own and a dog of my own. And I’ve finally decided to buy a house of my own.”

“I’m happy for you, but could you wait a day on the house part?” Then he stopped in his tracks before walking again. The dog bumped into him and whined, complaining half-heartedly. “Hold on. Irene Bruzlin has noble lineage. That means you do, too. You’re no longer Cinderella. You’re a princess.”

She laughed. She’d never laughed as much as in the last few days spent with him. “It’s not like it’s royal blood. And you’re the one who makes me feel like a princess.”

Letting the leash go, he took her hands in his. “I want to.”

As much as she cherished this moment, she needed to update him on the case.

Just as she’d suspected, Brady and Vanya turned on Anne Tandy fast.

Some things were a surprise, though, like Anne Tandy’s talent for burglary and safecracking. Never underestimate an older woman. Turned out, Anne had learned some interesting skills in her youth. Snatching the necklace wasn’t a crime of opportunity because Vanya was waiting for Brady to get it at the precise time. But stealing Kennedy’s heirloom ring had been.

“According to Vanya, she needed funds to help her father with medical expenses and wanted to sell the necklace. But with bad feelings between the divorcing couple, her mother refused. Anne Tandy heard about it and offered the teen the best solution. The necklace would be stolen at a public event, and her mother would get the insurance payout for it. Plus, Anne Tandy would give Vanya a hefty sum. Nobody would ever have to know. Her father was much more important than some necklace, right?”

He squeezed her fingers. “What happened to the ring Anne Tandy reported stolen from the previous charity gala?”

Her pulse kicked up a notch. She loved his touch, simply being near him, and it was difficult to keep her mind on the case. “It stayed in her possession, though she never wore it in public again. The thief wasn’t discovered because there was no thief. Anne Tandy got the insurance payout, kept the ring, and created a precedent for future thefts.”

“All this for some shiny stones.” He shook his head as if in disbelief.

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