His Unexpected Return. Jessica Keller

from his pockets to cross his arms over his chest.

      “Stay away from her.”

      “Listen, I will be forever grateful that you all stepped in and took care of her for me, but she was my girlfriend and I get to—”

      “Wrong.” Rhett stepped so close he was in Wade’s personal space. “She is your nothing. You don’t have the right to think about her as anything to do with you other than the mother of your child who you will respect. Understood?” His tone invited no debate. “You lost that right when you abandoned her.”

      Wade straightened his spine. Cassidy and Piper were his family—a family he hadn’t known he had but now that he did, he wanted to get to know his daughter and be a part of her life in whatever way he could, and that meant dealing with Cassidy too.

      He would abide by almost any rule Rhett could toss at him, but not this. However, arguing with Rhett would get him nowhere fast. Wording in the will or not, Wade knew if he angered his brother, the man could send him packing.

      “You’re right,” Wade offered because it was true. “I have no claim on Cassidy.” He licked his lips. “I just... I’d like to try... I’d like to spend time with her and Piper.”

      “That’ll be up to Cassidy,” Rhett said. “But keep in mind, you don’t get to have expectations about what any relationship with her will look like. Everything is on her terms—her boundaries. She does not have to let you into her life again and I wouldn’t blame her if she chose not to.”

      “Agreed.” He walked beside Rhett toward the door.

      Rhett clapped him on the shoulder right before they exited. “Welcome home.”

       Chapter Two

      Wade stayed beside Rhett as they cut down the hill and crossed the land that had housed the cabins the ranch used for Camp Firefly, the summer camp they hosted for foster kids. Three cabins were in various states of rebuild but the rest of the space was simply outlines where no grass grew, the forms of the old cabins seared into the soil’s memory.

      “Everyone’s been understanding so far.” Rhett explained how, despite all the work they had accomplished, he had been forced to shift the summer camp schedule back by a month. Thankfully they had only planned on hosting four weeks instead of the six their father had always organized, but if they had to fiddle with the dates any more, there wouldn’t be enough time left in the summer.

      “Most people seem happy that we haven’t outright canceled everything this summer.” Rhett surveyed the area. “I really hope we don’t end up having to, after all.”

      “We won’t.” Wade let his gaze trail to the other side of the ranch, where the cattle and horses were penned and the metal sides of a new pole barn glinted in the evening sunshine. Rolling hills and a lake in the distance—how had he been able to leave this place? It hadn’t been an easy choice to stay away, but each year he had been gone had faded Red Dog Ranch little by little in his memory. Being back now, he couldn’t imagine ever leaving willingly.

      Wade swallowed around the unexpected emotions the sight had jammed down into his throat. “Like I said, I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He would be around for the long haul this time.

      If they wanted him.

      As they approached the family home, the front door swung open and a petite woman charged down the front steps. She started sprinting toward them, her blond curls springing with every step.

       Shannon.

      Wade stopped in his tracks. A trickle of sweat carved a path down his back as he waited under the onslaught of the Texas sun. He found the nervous urge to trace the lump on his throat. Of anyone, Shannon might notice something was wrong. She would pick up on his unspoken truths. She always had in the past.

      His sister had been his best friend. Their connection as twins had almost guaranteed that. Out of everyone in his family, he had struggled the most with wanting to send Shannon a note over the years to let her know he was alive and to see how she was, who she had become.

      A note to say he loved her. Missed her.

      Rhett cleared his throat. “You realize by now Cassidy has told her what happened and she’s just as likely to be running out here to yell at you as she is to hug you. It’s a toss-up.” Rhett gave Wade’s shoulder a small squeeze.

      He was good with either.

      Wade shot Rhett a quick grin. “She always kept us on our toes, didn’t she?” Then Wade turned his attention back to his sister. He started toward her, widening his strides and opening his arms—hopeful she would be happy to see him. When Shannon crashed into his chest, she caused the air to whoosh from his lungs. Immediately she enfolded him in a warm hug. Before she could say anything, she started crying, her shoulders shaking with loud sobs.

      “Hey.” Wade tightened his hold on her. “I’m here.”

      “Cassidy told me.” Shannon pushed back a little so she could look up at him. Her light blues pinned on his face. “This whole time, where have you been? How could you do this to us?”

      He didn’t think telling her he had been a jerk would satisfy her. He hadn’t called or written and had allowed everyone to draw false conclusions. Worse, he had stayed away, knowing—counting on the fact—that they would wrongly assume he was dead.

      “I’ve been in the Gulf,” he said softly. Though he knew that wasn’t the answer she most wanted.

      She stepped back, finally breaking all contact with him. Shannon fisted her hands. “I am beyond angry with you. At you. I don’t think I’ve ever been so furious with someone in my whole life. What you did to us... What you let us believe—” Her voice hitched.

      “I’m so sorry, Shannon. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

      More than he had ever thought.

      Wade shoved his hands into his pockets, willing to take whatever she had to say. What he had done easily earned him a lifelong tongue-lashing. And knowing his sister, she had plenty of zingers stored up to pile on him.

      “But, Wade?” She waited for him to meet her eyes again. “I love you. I think you need to hear that more than anything else I have to say right now.” She rocked on her feet. “Between losing Dad, Mom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Boone and his family moving clear across the country and what the tornado did to our ranch...” She used her hand to shield the sun from her eyes as she scanned the evidence of the storm’s damage throughout their property. “Our family’s been through a lot recently.”

      Shannon sighed. “Rhett and I were fighting when the tornado hit.” She looked over at Rhett and they exchanged tender smiles. “And for a few hours there, I didn’t know if he was dead or alive. All that time, I kept thinking my last memory of him, my last moments with him, would have been me tossing a heap of cruel words at him.” She laid a hand on her stomach as if the thought made her physically sick. “I don’t ever, ever want to feel that way again.”

      “That had to have been scary.”

      Shannon nodded. “I learned my lesson though. Which is good timing for you because if you had shown up out of the blue two months ago, before we lived through the tornado and before we lost Dad, well, let’s just say this reunion would have gone down a lot differently.”

      Wade had no doubt.

      He had expected much worse.

      Rhett excused himself to meet up with Macy as Shannon filled Wade in on some of the plans they had to improve the ranch once the rebuilds from the storm were completed. A part of Wade wanted to go inside and see his mom, but more than anything he was exhausted from the last few hours of seeing people and trying to explain himself. Today he had learned he had a daughter. He had discovered that