Page 27 of A Cowboy's Bride
Danielle laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, guiding him off the porch and toward the barn.. “What was it that got to you the most? The look in her eyes or the fact she’s so young?”
“All of it.” Underfoot, Dixie whined softly, sensing Aiden’s anger. He gave her a brief pat then stepped away, inhaling deeply to try and wash some of the rage from his system. “I don't think it would be a good thing if I was to ever meet the people who put that expression on her face.”
“Trust me,” Danielle offered. “I've been fantasizing rather vividly about what things I would do to them if it were possible. But right now, the biggest thing is that Jennifer’s out of that situation and in a place where her life can improve.”
Which was what he needed to focus on rather than using his resources to discover who needed to be buried in a shallow grave. “It's not going to fly,” he warned. “Having her on as a ranch hand. She's far too young for that to work.”
“Agreed. I didn't realize it until I picked her up today. Sometimes girls at this age can get away with pretending to be older, but she looks young. Younger than she is.” Danielle all but snarled the words.
Looking for a solution helped control Aiden’s temper. “I might have an idea.” They'd made it to the barn, and from across the open walkway, Jake and Declan put down their tools and paced quickly toward them. “She’s welcome here, but I don't think it's going to be for a short time.” He shook the envelope Danielle had given him. “Unless there’s something in here that says she's got a safe retreat spot elsewhere.”
Danielle shook her head then lifted her chin to his brothers, sharing with all of them. “Her parents died when she was five, so she’s been in foster care for a while. The paperwork outlines more details, but to summarize, she’s had two stable placements. A year and a half ago, the older couple she’d been with for eight years had to withdraw from fostering because of health issues. Her new family has a long history of fostering and a good track record. They have a birth son about Jennifer’s age and a slightly older daughter, and it should have been a perfect match. Instead, it’s been a disaster. They’ve persuaded the other authorities that she’s been acting up and causing problems, which is why they’re being firm. I’m convinced something bigger is happening. She's run away at least three times I know about. I couldn’t get anyone to agree to look closer, so I stepped in and quietly asked if she wanted out.”
“Is that how you’re playing this one?” Jake asked. “That this time she's been successful in running away?”
Danielle nodded. “She left hints indicating she was headed to Toronto. That’s a big enough place for a girl like her to get lost, and it's far enough away from Red Deer that I don't think anyone will bother trying to track her down.”
“Red Deer isn't that far away from Heart Falls. You think it's safe for her here?” Aiden asked quietly.
“Safer than where she was,” Danielle snapped before taking a deep breath. “She insisted she didn’t need to see a doctor, that she hadn’t been raped, but she has all the signs of dealing with sexual abuse.”
Another rush of fury flashed through Aiden at the thought.
Danielle offered an apologetic smile. “You are her best shot right now,” she said.
“Then here she’ll stay,” Declan offered with no hesitation.
“She’s damn skittish.” Aiden made eye contact with his brothers. “Petra’s going to have to call the shots a lot on this one.”
They both nodded.
“She’s too young to be a ranch hand. But she could be family. Declan.”
His brother met his eyes.
Aiden hated to go there, but it was necessary. It had only been three years since Declan’s wife Sadie had died. Shortly after she’d passed was when the Skye brothers had seriously began planning for the setup of High Water. It didn’t make her loss any less painful for his brother.
“Sadie’s folks fostered kids. They live remote enough now that they won’t know, and there’s no high schools in their new area. That way Jennifer can still share the parts of her past that she wants to without the need to pretend her birth parents are still in the picture. You okay with that idea?”
Declan never hesitated. “Of course. Jennifer coming here would make sense. We can play it up that she plans to go to school in Calgary after she graduates.”
“I’ll get in touch with my contact,” Jake offered. “Get her ID, get her set up in the school system. It shouldn't take long.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Danielle said quietly. “Contact me if you need to, but from here on in, I'm going to keep out of the details as much as possible. Jennifer has my number in case of emergencies, and I’ll stop by at times to check in, but the less interaction between us once people know she’s missing, the better.”
Jake shook her hand. “If you need us, call. That's why we’re here. That's why we’re building High Water.”
Declan tilted his head toward the house. “If there's nothing else you need to tell the three of us, I'll walk you back to the house. You can say goodbye to Jennifer, and I'll let her know about her role in the family.”
“Thank you for being men I can trust. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe you were rock solid.” Danielle met each of their eyes in turn before resting her hand briefly on Aiden’s arm. “And thank goodness for Petra. You’ve found yourself a wonderful woman.”
The praise only sent another wave of frustration over Aiden as Danielle joined Declan and they headed toward the house.
Petrawasa good woman. Thank God she’d stepped in to help.
But it was also maddening since Aiden had thought her a good woman before all this, and now the chances of him doing anything about the connection between them had temporarily vanished.
Nothing mattered right now except making sure Jennifer’s world improved from the hell it had been.
