The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish. Roxanne Rustand

      The voices drifted past.

      “Does Dad know I’m in here? Not that it matters.”

      He’d known Cade would ask, with his usual bravado firmly in place, because the subject was still touchy after all these years. But there was no way Jack could make things right. Even a brother as loyal as Jack couldn’t replace a father who might not bother to check in on his son.

      “You signed the privacy release forms when you were seen in the E.R. The social worker said she called both him and Mom when you were admitted.”

      Cade closed his eyes briefly. “Neither one has called. Not that it’s a big surprise. Have you heard from Mom much since she got married again?”

      “Just a brief email or two. She said she hated this town and wished she’d left it long ago for the brighter lights of Denver. Of course, when marriage number three ends, she probably won’t like Denver, either.”

      “I sent her a message a while back, telling her about my upcoming wedding to Jasmine, and she never even replied.” Cade was now mature in many ways, but the hint of hurt in his voice over his thoughtless parents was unmistakable.

      “I’m not sure what’s worse—a mom who’s too busy to be bothered or a dad who’s angry about who I’m marrying and wants me to call it off. He doesn’t care about me being happy.”

      “Maybe he’s worried about you.”

      “Are you kidding? It’s all about that same old stupid feud, and you know it as well as I do.” Cade scowled. “If Jasmine wasn’t living with one of George Clayton’s granddaughters, I’ll bet Dad wouldn’t say a word. He just flat doesn’t care about either of us.”

      “I think he does in his own way. But it’s his loss if he doesn’t make an effort. You’re a good kid, and you deserve much better.”

      Cade rolled his eyes. “At least Jasmine thinks so.”

      “And you have me—world’s best brother, right?” Jack teased.

      Cade barked out a laugh, then moaned and folded his arms over his belly. “Don’t make me laugh, man. These muscles hurt.”

      The fact that Charley was such a lackadaisical father to Cade, his own flesh and blood, never failed to set Jack’s temper on edge.

      He’d only been a temporary stepson from long ago, barely a blip on the man’s radar, and Jack had never been close to Charley. As a kid without a father figure in his life, he’d started out hoping Charley would be that man for him, but Charley hadn’t treated his mother well and had barely given Jack the time of day.

      For Cade’s sake, Jack had always tried to keep his low opinion of Charley to himself. Was hunger for family one of the reasons Cade had chosen to get married so young?

      Heavy footsteps clomped down the hall and pulled to a stop outside Cade’s room. At his brother’s startled expression, Jack turned toward the door.

      Charley and Uncle Pauley walked into the room. Short and burly, with thick necks, heavy jowls and small, piercing eyes set deep in their florid faces, no one could mistake them for anything but brothers. But while Pauley held the part-time, unpaid position as town mayor, Charley laid no claim to a job of any sort and was entirely too proud of how he managed to remain on disability for no good reason.

      “So, I hear you’re taking it easy here,” Charley boomed, nodding at Cade. He and Pauley settled their bulky frames into the two chairs in the room. “Pauley and me were just over at the Cowboy Café for some pie, and thought we’d check in on you.”

      “Since everyone’s talking about the accident, we thought we’d better get the news firsthand,” Pauley added, his chest expanding with pride. “I need to know what’s going on in this town.”

      No surprise, there. Pauley did almost nothing in his role as mayor, but he was definitely one for gossip, and he gladly shared it with his kin. When Samuel’s side of the family somehow managed to campaign him into office last year, they’d supplied themselves with a pipeline of information.

      “I heard Mei Clayton was there on the trail.” Disappointment flickered to life in Charley’s beady eyes. “I didn’t know she’d come back to town.”

      Jack reined in a surge of irritation. “She was the first one on the scene. She made a dangerous hundred-foot descent to get to Cade and Jasmine, and she provided initial first aid.”

      “That’s a shame. Oh, not about you gettin’ rescued and all, boy.” He waved a hand dismissively. “But it’s real disappointing that she actually showed her face in town again. We hoped she mighta stayed in China, or wherever it is she moved to.”

      “With George’s other grandchildren showing up right along, we were counting on her to skip out.” Pauley frowned, pursing his full lips. “Of course, there’s that fool brother of hers. I hear he’s got himself lost in some Florida swamp, so maybe he’ll be the one to break ole George’s will.”

      “I don’t think you two ought to be planning on any windfall just yet.” Cade pulled himself up in bed. “George’s grandchildren are going to earn that inheritance because Arabella and all of the other cousins are planning to meet every stipulation of that will.”

      Pauley chortled. “So they say. But things happen.”

      Jack had heard rumors about a few of those “things” over the past few months—events that might have been designed to drive some of the cousins away from town before they fulfilled their required time here. He suspected none of them had been accidental.

      “Just so you know, fellas, Mei is here to stay,” Jack said. “I’ll take great exception to anyone who tries to cause trouble for her. And—” he leveled a look at each of them in turn “—I’ll know who to come after.”

      “I have no idea what you mean, boy.” Charley swiveled in his seat to look up at Jack, the veiled mockery in his voice coming across crystal clear. “Cause trouble? We only hope those spoiled, self-serving cousins slip up because they don’t deserve to have that inheritance given to them on a silver platter. By all rights, at least half of George’s wealth should have belonged to Samuel and to us.”

      “But we surely aren’t going to do anything illegal to get it all back,” Pauley added with a smirk. “No sirree. That uppity side of the family always blames us for anything that goes wrong … but that just shows what kinda fools they are.”

      At a soft knock on the door, they all looked toward the door.

      Mei, nearly hidden by a giant bouquet of yellow, orange and white flowers of some kind, stepped inside. “Hi, Cade.” She shot a surprised look at the other three men. “I … um … see you have company.”

      She dropped her gaze to the flowers as she settled them on a shelf under the window and adjusted the big yellow bow fastened to the vase.

      Pauley elbowed his brother. “Maybe we’d better get on our way. I told Vincent I was gonna meet up with him about now.”

      Pauley and Charley lumbered to their feet, nodded at Cade and shot a look of pure dislike toward Mei. They left without another word.

      “Oh, my,” she murmured as their footsteps receded down the hall. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

      “Company’s a good thing,” Jack said, hoping he could make her smile. “Especially when it’s someone who risked her own safety to help my brother.”

      “Anyone else would have done the same.”

      “By rappelling down a cliff face? I doubt that.”

      “I just happened to be at the right place at the right moment, I guess.” She darted a quick, uncertain glance at him, then turned her attention to Cade. “This is all they had in the grocery store floral section, so I hope you like Thanksgiving colors.” She pulled