Cowboy Lullaby (The Boones of Texas 6)

He nodded.

“Da da?” Pearl said, smiling at him. “Music?”

“Music?” he asked, glancing Tandy’s way. He loved his daughter, but there was no way he was going to humiliate himself.

“Peez,” she said, shooting Woodrow Boone a shy smile.

“Well, now, that’s too pretty a request to deny,” Woodrow said. “Tandy? Go get a guitar and play something for this little sweet pea.”

“Ta-dee sing,” Pearl said to Woodrow.

“You like Tandy’s singing?”

Pearl nodded, her shiny black curls bouncing.

“Wanna help me, Pearl?” Tandy asked, holding out her hand. Pearl was quick to take it and follow her out.

“She has the voice of an angel,” Woodrow said.

“That she does,” Click agreed, realizing his mistake as soon as Woodrow’s smile vanished.

Luckily, Pearl was gone or the old man would have scared her into hiding. He, on the other hand, stood his ground.

“I’m doing my best to be cordi

al, boy, seeing as how you lost your kin.” He straightened, lowering his voice. “I talked to my sister this morning. She told me you ran off and left Tandy in the hospital.”

Click stared at the older man. “That’s what she said?” he asked. He remembered it differently. Tandy had been inconsolable after they’d taken Amelia. And her mother... He swallowed. He hadn’t run off, he’d been told to leave. But Woodrow was right, he had left Tandy when she’d needed him.

“You saying my sister lied to me?” he asked.

Click swallowed down his anger. Susan Boone lived to stir the pot then stand back to see what sort of crisis she’d brought to the surface. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. He sucked in a deep breath, doing his best to stay calm. Woodrow Boone’s opinion of him shouldn’t matter. Only Tandy’s. “I’d never leave her. Not by my choosing.”

Woodrow’s brows rose. “Seems to me you did, deserting her that way. Now leave the poor girl alone. You can’t expect her to move on, with you showing up—bringing an angel along to help charm your way back in.” He shook his head. “According to Susan, you didn’t wait too long before you’d fathered your daughter. Now you’re on your own, needing a hand and a mother for that sweet little thing. She’s not going to turn her back on you, not after what she’s lost. Tandy’s too bighearted to see that you’re using her, but I’m not. Might as well tell me what you’re selling Lynnie’s place for—I’ll take it off your hands and you can be on your way.”

Click saw red. He’d never use Tandy that way. Never willingly hurt her again. Tandy was bighearted, lonely and vulnerable. He wanted to believe she wanted to be where she was, with him and Pearl. That she wanted them. But the older man’s words kicked up a flare of doubt.

“Uncle Woodrow?” Tandy had returned, holding Pearl’s hand in one hand and a guitar in the other. He didn’t know how long she’d been standing there or what she’d heard, but it was enough. “What’s going on?”

Pearl hid behind Tandy, the tension in the room mounting until it was palpable. He didn’t like the fear in his daughter’s eyes.

“Woodrow?” Evelyn Boone joined her husband, her concern sincere. “We were having such a lovely evening.”

Click knew the right thing to do. “It was. And I thank you kindly for your hospitality. But it’s time for Pearl and I to head home.” He wasn’t going to cause a scene. He’d leave before things escalated. Tandy hadn’t shared what had happened between them for a reason. He was pretty sure she’d be horrified for it to come out this way.

“Click?” Tandy’s voice was soft.

He smiled. “I should go.”

“No.” Tandy stiffened, her eyes searching his before she faced her uncle. “Click is a good man, Uncle Woodrow. He always has been. I don’t want to know what my mother’s said to you, but I can tell you the truth. If I thought it would change how you felt about him. Or how you treat him.”

Woodrow huffed, scowling at his niece. “A good man doesn’t leave a woman in a hospital bed.”

Click scooped up Pearl. “This is a conversation for behind closed doors, Mr. Boone.” He glanced around the room. It was Sunday, so there was no organized activity for the guests. But the Boones ate all their meals in the guest dining room. And right now, gathered around the fireplace in the main living room, there were a handful of guests within earshot.

“What’s happening?” Evelyn Boone asked.

“Mom.” Scarlett’s voice was soft as she hooked her arm through her mother’s. “Dad. Click is right. Family business shouldn’t be aired in public.”